Welcome

This is the space that I am going to use to present my archive of work prior to 2000.

Going through old negatives I realized that I should digitize many of my old photographs. Many of the negatives were never printed, nor seen, and this is a chance to play catch up. From time to time I will lump a group into an online gallery.

This is not intended to be a retrospective of my best old photographs and I do not intend this to be an exercise in nostalgia. I am going to present the photographs that interest me and I hope that they give you enjoyment.

Thanks,

Ron


(Click on photographs to enlarge)

Monday, July 20, 2009

Archive Prints

This morning the printer has been churning out photographs from the archive project. I'm mostly happy with the results and, in a few cases, very pleasantly surprised. Viewing prints online just does not do the work justice. So, If anybody wants to see the prints sometime, let me know.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Thunderstorm, Northern New Mexico

Thanks to the huge sky and vast horizon in New Mexico, thunderstorms are exciting to witness. Cloud formations and the streaming rain are beautiful. This photograph was made in 1993 somewhere in the Abiquiu/Ghost Ranch area.

Abandoned Morada, Abiquiu

Just outside Abiquiu is an abandoned Penitente Morada. The White cross was, obviously, being maintained. From 1993, never printed.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Turkey Run State Park Pt. III

This is the last photograph that I will post from the Turkey Run State Park photography outing with Andrew Johnston. As I dig through the old negatives I'm sure that I will find more photographs of Turkey Run from other outings.

During the late morning, when I set up, the light was right. I was hoping to make this photograph on this day. My favorite photograph that David Lee Miller ever made was of this scene. As David had passed on to bigger and better things, I had been wanting to make this photograph as an homage to him. This day was the day; it was the first day that I had been to Turkey Run after David had passed. And, at this point, it was the last.

Turkey Run State Park Pt. II

In somewhat the same vein as the singular tree growing out of the canyon floor, this photograph shows a tree growing out of the canyon wall. Again, the leafless tree branches are white against the texture of the rocky canyon wall. The top edge of the canyon wall is shown to give a little scale and dimension.

Trees, rocks and creeks are extremely overused subjects in art, especially in Indiana. Trying to get any combination of those elements to express anything poetic, to get past the scenic, is a huge challenge. These photographs approach that threshold, but I don't feel that they fully get past it. What do you think? Any comments would be appreciated.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Turkey Run State Park

A few years ago I photographed with Andrew Johnston in Turkey Run State Park and the surrounding area around Rockville, Indiana. One of the photographs that Andrew made that day is now on exhibit at Dean Johnson Gallery. It is a singular tree with no leaves that was growing out of the rocky canyon floor.

I developed the negatives from that day but never printed any of them. I thought it would be interesting to see what that day of photography produced. Here's the first image, made with the 2 1/4" (as were all of the Turkey Run photographs). It is the above mentioned tree against the texture of the canyon wall. Soon I'll be posting more photographs from Turkey Run SP.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Truchas, New Mexico

This scene is on the gateway into Truchas, New Mexico. The Truchas peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains are in the background. Truchas is an interesting place where many of the old ways are still practiced. On the High Road, it is about half way between Santa Fe and Taos. The photograph was made in the middle 1990s with the 4"x5."

St. Francisco de Asis, Ranchos de Taos

Here's a photograph made with the 4"x5" camera of St. Francisco de Asis at Ranchos de Taos, new Mexico. It seems that anybody who makes photographs, or paints, wants to utilize this beautiful adobe church as a subject. This picture was probably made in the middle 1990's.

el Santuario de Chimayo

The first group of photographs to be published in the archive are from New Mexico's el Santuario de Chimayo. This is a small portfolio of an extraordinary time in the Church when the crutches, and other items, that were left as evidence of miracles were plentiful and the light streamed through the small windows. These photographs were made with an old Zeiss 2 1/4."