 Brian
DeWolf thinks of himself as a photographer more so than
an artist. But, if creating landscape images that evoke
strong feeling is an art, he could be considered a photographic
artist. Whatever label is attached to his work, it gets
attention and has nostalgic appeal.
"The
Fox Valley (mainly the Illinois river towns of Geneva,
Batavia, and St. Charles), has been my home for more
than 30 years. I made a project of photographing this
area simply to develop photographic skill. When we're
in unfamiliar surroundings, such as a vacation, pictures
seem to be everywhere so it seemed a practical exercise
to develop a “photographic eye” in my own
back yard. We need not travel far to experience the way
light falls seductively upon subjects. Striking scenes
are everywhere. After all, photographing is the process
of selection and isolating a subject in favorable light.
It’s a mental exercise that can be done anywhere.”
And
judges for Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
agreed that he became skillful. A number of Brian’s
photographs have been "merited" in international
competition. His image of a bicyclist crossing the fog-shrouded
bridge over the Fox River earned a place in PPA's LOAN
COLLECTION for 2002. Marathon Press, publisher of the
LOAN COLLECTION book describes this array of images as
the "best of the best" from over 8,000 entries
entered in international competition. More of Brian's
photographs have been selected for PPA's General Showcase
Collections. A summary appears on the Recognition
page.
Brian
grew up in Wheaton, IL. He attended McKendree College
in Lebanon, IL and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Psychology. He sold hardware for his father's
business in the 1970's and was a policeman in St. Charles,
IL from 1979 until his retirement as a sergeant in May
of 2000. He began photographing with a relic Mamiya 35mm
camera and two lenses right after graduating in 1971.
As time permitted, he photographed landscapes on sales
trips around the Midwest. "I might have been a traffic
hazard. I was always watching cloud formations and scenery
as I drove."
"The
Fox Valley (mainly the Illinois river towns of Geneva,
Batavia, and St. Charles), has been my home for more
than 30 years. I made a project of photographing this
area simply to develop photographic skill. When we're
in unfamiliar surroundings, such as a vacation, pictures
seem to be everywhere so it seemed a practical exercise
to develop a “photographic eye” in my own
back yard. We need not travel far to experience the way
light falls seductively upon subjects. Striking scenes
are everywhere. After all, photographing is the process
of selection and isolating a subject in favorable light.
It’s a mental exercise that can be done anywhere.”
"We
filter everything we see and hear. We unwittingly isolate
parts of a scene that get our attention and ignore others.
That's one reason our photographs can disappoint us when
we see the print. The camera records it all. A disappointing
photograph can be the result of clutter in the scene
that should have been omitted. Or maybe the light didn’t
compliment the subject"
"I
rarely shoot spontaneously. I’m a plodder and a
planner for the most part and, as photographer David
Plowden said, 'stalk photographs like a heron.' I don't
photograph for sensation. Mood motivates me. Sometimes
I choose a subject and wait for good light and scout
for best angles. Other times I shoot based upon instinct.
Either way, I think about the lighting and search the
viewfinder for distracting objects. And I especially
like black and white images. They are abstract and, in
their own way, strengthen relationships between forms,
textures, lines, and shapes. But if color holds an emotion,
I'll use it."
"The
past intrigues me and can hold sentiment. I hope viewers
get a feeling of the past, or a sense that our present
quickly becomes locked away forever. Most people want
to hold unchanged that which is interesting or gives
them joy. It might be a flower, brown and brittle, that
was tucked between the pages of a book to remind you
of a walk on a bright, clean May morning. Or maybe it's
a letter, with pages tearing at the folds, written by
one whose voice you can no longer hear or whose hand
you can no longer touch. If my photography can evoke
something like this, it has done its job."
Brian's
business and artistic philosophy is simple; make the
best images possible with the highest quality materials.
When Brian was in sales, he saw some fine companies violate
their customers' trust. "They had good products,
but they wanted more profit. Instead of maintaining the
quality that earned their customer's trust, they chose
to cut costs. “Sure, there's a market for products
of lesser integrity, but I didn't want to be part of
it. I don't ever want dissatisfied clients to be figured
into the cost of doing business."
"I
owe so much to my parents. My father had unlimited optimism
and creativity. My mother loves people and has boundless
generosity. They have inspired me. Brian DeWolf is a
member of Professional Photographers of America and the
Fox Valley Arts Council.
Brian
is also a Patient Volunteer for Fox Valley Hospice. This
organization assists persons with life threatening illnesses,
and their families. It receives no government funding and
is supported entirely by the donations of generous people
and businesses. |
Rosalie
Waranius lives and has a studio in Batavia,
Illinois. Vass grew up in the glacier area of
Wisconsin. Her hometown was small and her roaming
range quite large. She was fascinated by the
changes in the sky and the colors of the seasons.
She watched the cows and sheep graze in the
pastures and all of life seemed amazingly slow
and multi-colored. She was content to scan her
environment to find the colors, textures, moods,
and compositions that she would later paint.
