Vintage, Shmintage

And on the digital front I have to confess my own prejudice that, marvelous though something like Photoshop may be for making digital prints, its multiple menus -- and those available from other sources -- seem at times like a midnight smorgasboard on a cruise ship: simply too much, and of too little actual value. In addition, the troglodyte in me values the idea that it is the artist who initially decides what he or she wants to produce, then goes about producing it (silver print, C-print, platinum print, solarized print, etc.) within the confines of that decision, and not at the whim of a pulldown menu of printing options.

So what is a potential collector to do, to avoid paying thousands for flash-in-the-pan, or plain mediocre, work?

Here, Hemphill said, there is no substitute for doing one's homework, for immersing oneself in photographic images to get a grounding in the craft itself -- at least from a purely visual standpoint. In this respect, he said, Washington DC is a fine place to learn, given the vast archives of the city's museums and galleries.

For my money, the hands-on archive at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Catonsville, Md. (where Tom Beck hangs his hat) is a perfect place to start one's photographic education. Being a teaching institution, UMBC's huge photography archive in the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery is open to any who are curious to see what treasures it has in its stacks. And the treasures are many. They even supply the cotton gloves for viewing original photographs that are brought to your desk by helpful and knowledgeable staff.

I am proud to have my work in this collection. There is nothing like going through the catalog and seeing one's name next to that of James Vander Zee or Diane Arbus, or any number of other photographic giants on whose shoulders we all stand and from whose work we all can learn.

Frank Van Riper is a Washington-based commercial and documentary photographer and author. His current book is Talking Photography (Allworth Press), a collection of his Washington Post and other photography writing over the past decade. He can be reached through his website http://www.gvrphoto.com/

Frank's Picks

An occasional feature with Frank Van Riper's recommendations on current shows, exhibitions, as well as other subjects, that are worthy of a look. They concentrate on -- though are not limited to -- photography and the visual arts.

Irene Owsley & Barbara Tyroler at Photoworks

(Through November 13th)

Here are two photographers who have jumped with both feet into digital--in Barbara Tyroler's case, both literally and figuratively--and who have come up with glorious images that are both "Wide and Intimate."

The title refers to their joint exhibition at the Photoworks Gallery at Glen Echo Park--that marvelous, family-friendly and lovingly restored relic of an amusement park in Glen Echo, Md. that I think of as a statewide, if not national, treasure.

Barbara's wonderfully abstract series of "water portraits," many of them diptychs, involve children and adults at play in swimming pools--but these are hardly summertime happy snaps. Working in the water herself and using a mylar reflector to create bizarre underwater imagery Tyroler creates an aquatic world of wonder, enhanced by Photoshop but never losing its essential humanity.

As panoramic as Barbara's work is intimate, Irene's panorama photographs seem to capture not only place, but emotion. Up to 50 inches long and superbly printed, these images are actually stitched-together digital images, each one of which can take up to several days to produce. There are wide vistas that take your breath away and equally wide--yet also intimate--views that seem to bring you just inches from rushing water--or the yellow prow of Irene's kayak.

"Wide and Intimate Views", Photoworks Gallery, Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, Md. Hours: Sat. 12-4p; Sun. 1-8p; Mon. 9a-3p--and during scheduled photography classes and by appointment. Info: 301-229-7930.

Documentary Photography Class with Frank Van Riper

Photography columnist and author Frank Van Riper will once again teach his popular 6-week evening workshop in documentary photography and photographic printing at Glen Echo Park's PhotoWorks studio this winter. The Thursday evening classes will begin February 16th and run from 7pm to 10:30pm each week.

In the documentary class students will be expected to initiate or continue a project of their choosing, with the goal of producing a finished picture story by the end of the session. Students wishing to accompany their photo essays with written text are encouraged to do so. Students may work in either film or digital. Class size is limited. Early registration is suggested. For information: 301-320-7757.

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