Join the New Haven and North Haven Camera Clubs -- Monday Feb 1st at 6:30pm Sculpting with light; a Transformative Process by Harold Ross
Join the New Haven and North Haven Camera Clubs -- Monday Feb 1st at 6:30pm
Sculpting with light; a Transformative Process by Harold Ross
Join noted photographer Harold Ross for a presentation of his Sculpting with Light process, a technique that he has been perfecting for 30 years. (Yes, that's right! Harold used his light painting process on transparency film, before Photoshop existed!) He will show you how his photographic methods using the technique of light painting can transform the ordinary into the remarkable.
Harold is drawn to photograph things that have history; old machines, tools and various still life subjects. His goal is to elevate and monumentalize these subjects, which are often taken for granted. His transformational approach to photography can, in a way, breathe new life into his subjects.
In his landscape work, Harold is interested in the interplay between the real and the unreal. An unmistakably real scene, illuminated in a way that can’t happen in nature, creates a quandary in the mind of the viewer. In a more subtle way, this same interplay exists in Harold’s still life work. Harold will share his work, and he will explain the lighting tools he uses (simple and few), the advantages of light painting, and the Six Principles of Light that he feels are essential to mastering lighting.
He’ll also touch on the amazing power of enhancing dimension and depth through specialized (yet simple) masking techniques in Photoshop. These masking methods, which Harold teaches in his workshops, are akin to painting and drawing, and are not taught as photographic techniques anywhere else. Harold will be using his images to convey the transformative nature of his image-making process, which allows one to transform an ordinary subject into something remarkable!
See Harold’s work at: www.haroldrossfineart.com
See Harold’s blog, with lots of technical information on Light Painting at: www.haroldrossfineart.wordpress.com and Harold’s Instagram: #haroldross_sculptingwithlight
BIO: Harold’s 40-year photographic career began in fine art (he has a degree in fine art photography from MICA) and as a teacher. He then owned (for 30 years) a commercial studio producing images for advertising. For the last decade, Harold has returned to his roots, now concentrating entirely on fine art photography as well as teaching.
For the last 30 years, he has specialized in Light Painting, a technique involving "painting" the light over a long time exposure. Harold refers to his image-making process as “Sculpting with Light”. His work mainly involves still life, but he also makes photographs of larger subjects as well as landscapes (shot at night of course).
His large scale color work has been exhibited, collected, and published in the U.S. and internationally in Photo China Magazine, the Italian magazine Progresso Fotografico, Ukraine Photographer, and The Journal of the Royal Photographic Society in England, among others. Here at home, his work was featured in LensWork #93, #121 and #137, and Professional Photographer Magazine, Digital Photographer, and Popular Photography, among many others. Also, his work was recently featured in a LensWork Monograph. Digital publications include The New York Times LENS blog, Boing Boing, aCurator, LENSCRATCH, Colossal, Photigy, Luminous Landscape, Medium Format, and more. In 2011, Harold was invited to participate in an exhibition of landscape photography in Inner Mongolia, China along with 10 other American and 20 Chinese photographers. He was also chosen as one of four photographers to exhibit in the inaugural FRESH exhibition at the prestigious Klompching Gallery in New York.
Harold is influenced by the work of Wynn Bullock, W. Eugene Smith and Irving Penn. He is also influenced by the paintings of Rembrandt, Carravaggio, and Willem Kalf. Gallery representation: Susan Spiritus Gallery, CA., and High Noon Gallery, Beijing. Harold lives in Lancaster County, PA, with his wife Vera and their two Basenjis, where he produces images and teaches workshops in his image-making process. To see Harold’s work, please visit www.haroldrossfineart.com