JB Photo's photostream  

Hi all, and thanks for visiting !

As I've only recently joined Flickr (March 2006), please forgive my occasional lack of protocol...



It's been a wonderful experience, and I've already met and been inspired by countless great people and their art, and am developing a deep appreciation for this community and anyone who posts and shares their visions here, and am joyful if I can occasionally contribute.

Flickr is a bit of salvation and re-discovery for me, as I've longed for such a broad community.

I did have a background in graphic design and photo, as after moving to the United States from my native Germany, I studied Photography in Athens, GA and in Cortona, Italy. So my "formative years" were spent in Athens, GA in the 80s, not a bad place to be at that time, hanging out at the 40Watt club with the likes of the B52s and R.E.M. (Members of both these bands were in the art program at Georgia, Michael Stipes for example was in a photo class with us, some funny stories there... So from that time I have somewhat of a musical alter-ego lounge jazz project called "Deep Motif. " (see www.myspace.com/deepmotif)

Prior to moving to New York in the mid 1980's, I did receive a degree in Photographic Design under Prof. Wiley Sanderson (Motto: "Most people would prefer to be ruined by praise, rather than saved by criticism", this posted on a sign above the darkroom), and have since worked to evolve from pinhole photography through traditional media to today's digital media.

So arriving in New York, I freelanced (read: swept floors and cleaned studios, occasionally loading film) with several Manhattan photographers before taking on a permanent understudy role with Henry Ries Studios, known for his photography of the Berlin Blockade and his use of a large format camera technique called "Heloptix", a form of early special effects motion photography involving up to 170 view camera exposures on a single piece of 8X10 sheet film. The work was creative and fun and I miss the chaotic variety of assignments there, (more blog stories…) but special effects photography eventually got sub-sumed by computer graphics technology, and I was never much of a fashion shooter… So I starved for a while...

After the unsteady diet of a "rice and beans eating" artist in the early 1990's, I embarked on the presumably better paid career in computer programming and information technology, (not to say that : "I sold out") which has enabled me to be involved in digital imaging, related software applications as well as digital photography. With the advent of more capable computers and cameras, I was able to be involved with digital photography from the very beginning...

In short, where before I had plenty of time but could not afford any decent gear, I have evolved to being able to afford the gear, without having enough time to use it :)

However, I now enjoy the freedom that comes from not having to satisfy any art directors, enjoy the inspiration I get from connecting with people on-line or in person, and I can also find the positive aspect of my lack of time: It has created a sense of urgency and focus for me. Yet I am living vicariously through those of you with the time to experiment more than I'm able at the moment.

So in the end it is with great joy that I see so many young people playing, exchanging ideas, experimenting, and innovating with their work, and I hope to connect with the spirit of this creativity. (read: be kicked into some action myself)

Thanks for reading, and drop me a line!

And also my musical alter ego is a studio project called Deep Motif... Sort of Lounge / New-Jazz / Electronica... If you care to, please give a listen to some samples from my CD called "Emergence":

Deep Motif



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