ARTIST'S STATEMENT

The interplay of color, design, and the magical effects of light and reflections have always fascinated me.  I discovered photography more than 40 years ago and have been shooting ever since, simply because I enjoy the process, and the results are good often enough to keep me hooked.

Over the years, I studied different photographic styles, took a couple of classes from Leland Rice and learned from studying the work of those I admired most, Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Ernest Haas and Eliot Porter.  My work evolved with time and the influence of my friend and long-time photography partner, Tom Howell, who unselfishly shared his knowledge as an accomplished artist and gifted photographer, and who constantly challenged me to improve.  Many creative insights have come from our dueling slideshows sustained with Cabernet or Chianti after trips to Yosemite, Point Lobos, Bodie, Moro Bay, Death Valley, The Wine Country, Florence, Venice and Rome. 

My favorite artists include Italian Renaissance Masters, French Impressionists, Classical and Modern Artists.  A partial list includes Bernini, Caravaggio, Degas, Donatello, Michelangelo, O’Keefe, Rembrandt, Renoir, Richter, Rodin, Rothko, Titian, and Van Gogh.  My passions other than photography include travel, music, history, movies and wine.  I have been fortunate to travel to many countries over the years, and I have tried to capture interesting and varied images that reflect the unique characteristics of each one.

I have photographed many different subjects during the past four decades with a single objective...a desire to depict the interplay of light, color, design and sometimes reflections to create unique images that transcend photography.  From the early days working in darkrooms smelling of acetic acid to the present using the immaculate technology of highly advanced commercial printing processes, my goal of making unique, artful images has remained unchanged.   While I learned to emphasize technical perfection, my goal is to create something beyond “straight photography.”  I am pleased when people view my work and think it is something “more than photography.”

DENNIS GRIFFIN