honorable mention
Dan McCormack united states
title
Pinhole camera - Nude at Home
The Nude at Home
In this series, I use traditional 8 x 10 black-and-white film in a homemade oatmeal-box pinhole camera to create wide-angle distortions with the cylindrical focal plane. There is a sense of discovery and joy in this process, as the resulting images are unpredictable and surprising. The familiar becomes unfamiliar, the ordinary extraordinary. By then replacing the black-and-white values with subtle hues through successive pulling of curves in Photoshop, I interact with and interpret the image. The “Nude at Home” is a subset of a larger pinhole-camera project begun in 1998. In this series, I photograph the model nude in her own home, apartment, or studio, surrounded by her possessions for two-minute exposures. A collaboration between model and photographer, the images attempt to reveal an intimate portrait of the subject.
In 1976, I joined the Board of Directors of the Catskill Center for Photography and served as Vice President of the Board for ten years. One of my responsibilities was the installation of every show during those formative years.
I have taught photography at Purdue University, Pratt Institute, SUNY New Paltz, Bard College, Ramapo College and Mercy College before I came to Marist College twenty years ago. I currently head the photography program at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
In 1998 I began to work with pinhole photography. I use an oatmeal box pinhole camera to make 8x10 inch B&W negatives. With its extreme wide angle and distortion, the camera gives me results that are constantly a surprise. I develop the B&W negatives, scan them into Photoshop, and then colorize the image by pulling curves in each of the channels. I make an images rooted in 16th Century pinhole optics juxtaposed with 21st Century digital print manipulations. These newest photographs of mine are a hybrid of Photography and Digital Printmaking.
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entry description
The Nude at Home
In this series, I use traditional 8 x 10 black-and-white film in a homemade oatmeal-box pinhole camera to create wide-angle distortions with the cylindrical focal plane. There is a sense of discovery and joy in this process, as the resulting images are unpredictable and surprising. The familiar becomes unfamiliar, the ordinary extraordinary. By then replacing the black-and-white values with subtle hues through successive pulling of curves in Photoshop, I interact with and interpret the image. The “Nude at Home” is a subset of a larger pinhole-camera project begun in 1998. In this series, I photograph the model nude in her own home, apartment, or studio, surrounded by her possessions for two-minute exposures. A collaboration between model and photographer, the images attempt to reveal an intimate portrait of the subject.
about the photographer
I studied Photography from 1962 - 1967 at the Institute of Design in Chicago and at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1967 to 1970. I began photographing the nude with Wendy, my wife, while in graduate school. Then for over forty years I explored various techniques and processes while photographing the nude as a central theme.In 1976, I joined the Board of Directors of the Catskill Center for Photography and served as Vice President of the Board for ten years. One of my responsibilities was the installation of every show during those formative years.
I have taught photography at Purdue University, Pratt Institute, SUNY New Paltz, Bard College, Ramapo College and Mercy College before I came to Marist College twenty years ago. I currently head the photography program at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
In 1998 I began to work with pinhole photography. I use an oatmeal box pinhole camera to make 8x10 inch B&W negatives. With its extreme wide angle and distortion, the camera gives me results that are constantly a surprise. I develop the B&W negatives, scan them into Photoshop, and then colorize the image by pulling curves in each of the channels. I make an images rooted in 16th Century pinhole optics juxtaposed with 21st Century digital print manipulations. These newest photographs of mine are a hybrid of Photography and Digital Printmaking.
back to gallery