Bill Bray
Olympia, Washington
From even an early age I have been around and interested in capturing images onto film. What I learned from my parents was the excitement, enthusiasm and passion to still memories in time; people, places and things were instilled into my mind. I progressed through the years using the latest technological equipment that would hit the market.
My very first camera was a Brownie "box" camera and was the instamatic of its day. As the years progressed, I collected images with the newest camera equipment to achieve my goals. The industry moved to smaller, more compact features, moving from only being able to take images in highly lit areas of the home and outdoors--- to the flash attachments giving a new array of flexibility to the common user. Kodak was the leader in this world not only giving us the advances in equipment but also in the film we used; Kodachrome opened the world to highly vivid color which up until then was black and white only. Endless possibilities opened up to the common photographer, from home to professional stature, the world changed forever. I fell in love with color, couldn't see the world without it, had a fever for capturing everything I saw and sharing the images with all who would see.I waited with high anticipation for every new piece of photographic equipment the market could produce. My later years involved more formal classroom instruction honing my craft and learning how to complete the process--- start to finish.
I became the photo editor for my high school annual, taking candid, sporting and event photos. The angles of approach, emotional content, back drop framing and the studying of lighting conditions would be the basis for work in the future. Through this I used my knowledge of the camera, take it to the darkroom, to the published pages of a printed project. For several years I used mixed medium format equipment to produce images. I would then take the raw film developed the negatives and produce the images with the developing chemicals of the day. I created lightness, contrast and sculpted the images from the camera's eye. I used the darkroom much as one would use desktop software today, such as Adobe Photoshop. My many hours in the darkroom helped me understand the concepts of the computer software used today.
For over thirty years I have gone back and forth between various forms of medium format equipment spending most of my time with 35 mm SLR's. A larger portion of my work stems from that period of time. What I gained was my ability to see an image in the frame of the camera, to see the emotional moments and to capture still life. I have never been interested in capturing the gift shop post card image or to present just a "pretty" picture, but have strived to bring to the viewer a moment in time that displays the grandeur found in our everyday world.
I want to convey the emotion of what it was to look over the side the Grand Canyon for the first time; the simple awe one feels when peering over the vast horizon of color and immensity. I want viewers to have an experience each time they travel with me through my photographs. I want people to feel the sense of awe and the inquisitive interest I see. I have always shot photographs with this in my mind that these are my impressions, my views from different perspectives, and my vision to see the landscapes in a new light. Many of these images have been taken many times before by hundreds of other photographers but these are my interpretations of those places and hopefully convey my emotions.
I see images many of the times in reflections, dual images, and angles other than those of the straight on capturing. I like to see the surprise when someone see the image one way then flips it upside dawn only to find a completely new view within the same image; try and "flip" over some of my images, especially "Two Worlds" you'll find a puddle of water one way and a view through a wall in the other flip side. Enjoy!
copyright © 2010, 2011 Bill Bray. All rights reserved.
Contact Artist/Purchase Art:
Butsudo@msn.com
Website Link: wmbrayphotography.imagekind.com/store/
Olympia, Washington
From even an early age I have been around and interested in capturing images onto film. What I learned from my parents was the excitement, enthusiasm and passion to still memories in time; people, places and things were instilled into my mind. I progressed through the years using the latest technological equipment that would hit the market.
My very first camera was a Brownie "box" camera and was the instamatic of its day. As the years progressed, I collected images with the newest camera equipment to achieve my goals. The industry moved to smaller, more compact features, moving from only being able to take images in highly lit areas of the home and outdoors--- to the flash attachments giving a new array of flexibility to the common user. Kodak was the leader in this world not only giving us the advances in equipment but also in the film we used; Kodachrome opened the world to highly vivid color which up until then was black and white only. Endless possibilities opened up to the common photographer, from home to professional stature, the world changed forever. I fell in love with color, couldn't see the world without it, had a fever for capturing everything I saw and sharing the images with all who would see.I waited with high anticipation for every new piece of photographic equipment the market could produce. My later years involved more formal classroom instruction honing my craft and learning how to complete the process--- start to finish.
I became the photo editor for my high school annual, taking candid, sporting and event photos. The angles of approach, emotional content, back drop framing and the studying of lighting conditions would be the basis for work in the future. Through this I used my knowledge of the camera, take it to the darkroom, to the published pages of a printed project. For several years I used mixed medium format equipment to produce images. I would then take the raw film developed the negatives and produce the images with the developing chemicals of the day. I created lightness, contrast and sculpted the images from the camera's eye. I used the darkroom much as one would use desktop software today, such as Adobe Photoshop. My many hours in the darkroom helped me understand the concepts of the computer software used today.
For over thirty years I have gone back and forth between various forms of medium format equipment spending most of my time with 35 mm SLR's. A larger portion of my work stems from that period of time. What I gained was my ability to see an image in the frame of the camera, to see the emotional moments and to capture still life. I have never been interested in capturing the gift shop post card image or to present just a "pretty" picture, but have strived to bring to the viewer a moment in time that displays the grandeur found in our everyday world.
I want to convey the emotion of what it was to look over the side the Grand Canyon for the first time; the simple awe one feels when peering over the vast horizon of color and immensity. I want viewers to have an experience each time they travel with me through my photographs. I want people to feel the sense of awe and the inquisitive interest I see. I have always shot photographs with this in my mind that these are my impressions, my views from different perspectives, and my vision to see the landscapes in a new light. Many of these images have been taken many times before by hundreds of other photographers but these are my interpretations of those places and hopefully convey my emotions.
I see images many of the times in reflections, dual images, and angles other than those of the straight on capturing. I like to see the surprise when someone see the image one way then flips it upside dawn only to find a completely new view within the same image; try and "flip" over some of my images, especially "Two Worlds" you'll find a puddle of water one way and a view through a wall in the other flip side. Enjoy!
copyright © 2010, 2011 Bill Bray. All rights reserved.
Contact Artist/Purchase Art:
Butsudo@msn.com
Website Link: wmbrayphotography.imagekind.com/store/
