Ray Cornett's photostream

This profile contains fine art nudity.

I will give a 5x7 of any image in my portfolio to anyone who gets me a Flickr Pro account :)


I run several of my own groups.Check them out and join!
www.flickr.com/groups/imprints/
www.flickr.com/groups/soulwindows/
www.flickr.com/groups/aceophotographs/
www.flickr.com/groups/internationalfineartguild/
www.flickr.com/groups/bodomware/
www.flickr.com/groups/controlledchaos/
www.flickr.com/groups/fineartcollectors/
www.flickr.com/groups/coffeepress/
www.flickr.com/groups/asmp/

All images displayed here and on my website are also available as ACEOs and limited edition prints.




My name is Ray Cornett, Founder of the International Fine Art Guild(www.FineArtGuild.com).

I am a 36 year old self-taught photographer residing in Sacramento California .

I come from an artistic family and have been doing some form of art for as long as I can remember.From drawing to painting, pottery and photography. Although I do still have an interest in all of those my focus,no pun intended, has pointed more toward photography.

My first attempts at photography started at about the age of twenty four years ago at the age of ten shooting anything I found interesting from flowers to people to inanimate objects with an old Kodak Brownie I purchased for two dollars at a garage sale. Then, in my early teen years I moved on to my parents Yashica Electro 35 35mm camera which I seemed to have commandeered and still have to this day.

In 2001 I began to do photography on a professional level shooting models for fashion, glamour, the occasional wedding, whatever paid the bills.

However, my passion has always lied in the more fulfilling artistic side of photography, which has led to several local showings of my prints. As you can see my subjects of interest vary widely but my focus is to provoke thought, get people talking, make the viewer see things in a different way and hopefully inspire others to be creative whether it be through photography, drawing or another creative visual art form.

I have many more short series and on going projects in the works and I also plan on self publishing a series of books of my art photography.

Over the last 5 years I have experimented with alternative printing processes. I am considering editioning my prints or perhaps only edition a select few. However, due to my printing and editing techniques mimicking traditional darkroom techniques, as apposed to most photographers who make and edit one image and make all prints from that single edit session so that they are all identical.
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A few times I have been asked the questions "why do you do photography?"and "Why do you think photography so popular and interesting among its viewers?".Perhaps I can attempt to answer both questions at once.

My initial interest in photography began when I was 10 shooting candid photographs of family with a little Kodak Brownie that I bought for 2 dollars at a garage sale.At first it was the usual, capturing of moments and memories, that caught my attention.

Having been involved in art classes in school from kindergarten on I eventually saw photography as another medium of artistic expression.I began shooting flowers in vases,shooting tall buildings laying on my back when I went with my father running errands downtown - anything I saw as interesting.

Looking back, especially at shooting the buildings while laying on my back I can see where a lot of my love for the abstract comes from.Showing things as they are not normally perceived to be, different angles most do not see an object from, making people have to think to figure out what something is.Macro photography, whether just close up to show part of an object or show a small object in full detail at a larger size is also something I enjoy as,again, I like to show things as they are not often seen.

I feel most do not take the time to notice the smaller details - the small things that complete the "big picture" which is why so many have trouble figuring out what some of my abstract photographs are of.


As for why I think photography is so popular and interesting to those who enjoy viewing it is perhaps that it gives people the ability,or better yet, the permission to stare-as long as they want.

How often have we seen something in passing and wished we had the time to look at it in more detail? How often have we seen someone so interesting that we would love to be able to just look at them but were raised with the thought that staring was rude.

Humans are curious creatures and staring is not done out of rudeness but mostly just to take in more detail and information about what we are seeing.Taking mental notes, if you will.

With a photograph you can stare as long as you like at that old man with the interesting features and deep wrinkles walking down the street,that section of the coast that you were driving by at 65 miles an hour.