sterling

 
   images  

BlogOnline GalleryGalleries & ExhibitsInstruction and WorkshopsPhoto Restoration

Special Edition Print Folio
Forgotten Places: North Dakota Volume I

Details Here



Latest News

05/22/2013: Foggy Morning – One More Time

Like the cows in the earlier post, these horses were chowing down without any concern for the weather or the photographer who was pointing a camera over the fence in their direction. - More

05/20/2013: Foggy Morning Again

I continue to be amazed that this little shack has continued to manage to stay more or less upright through all kinds of storms and blizzards. Perhaps the tree provides some support. - More

05/18/2013: Raw Processing and Sensor Dynamic Range

The Olympus OM-D EM-5 mirrorless camera that I have had now for about a year is at the high end of the Olympus Micro 4/3 line and sports an excellent 16 megapixel sensor. But the megapixel count is not what makes this camera special. It is the excellent dynamic range and low noise. Here’s an […] - More

05/17/2013: Foggy Morning

I don’t get out early that much but when I saw the fog one morning I decided to push myself out to see what I could find. What is great about foggy conditions is that the backgrounds all but disappear so that it does not distract from the foreground subject. These critters seemed to be […] - More

05/15/2013: Potoma Falls

For the second half of last year my primary efforts were focused on the “Asylum” project so I have neglected finishing work on the few images I captured over the last few months of 2012 and the first few months of 2013. I’m going to try to catch up posting some of my recent images […] - More



Sign up for my Email Newsletter:

Current and Recent Exhibits

Forgotten Places: North Dakota
Solo Exhibit
Redbrick Gallery
404 West King Street, Martinsburg, WV
October 22 - November 28, 2011
Reception October 22, 4-7pm

2011 West Viginia Juried Exhibit
West Virginia Division of Culture and History
and the Stifel Fine Arts Center
Wheeling, West Virginia
September 30m 2011 - January 2, 2012

Forgotten Places: North Dakota
Solo Exhibit
Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center
40 South Carroll Street, Frederick, MD
August 13 - September 25, 2011

Annual Juried Exhibit
Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center
40 South Carroll Street, Frederick, MD
June 4 - July 24, 2011

FotoDC FLASH Exhibit
Crystal City
2450 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA
(12th & 13th Floors)
March 17-April 17, 2011

18th Annual Tri-State Photography Exhibit
Saville Gallery, Cumberland, Maryland
February-March, 2011
First Prize, Black and White

Tamarack
David L. Dickirson Fine Arts Gallery, Beckley, WV
"Architectronic
"
January - April, 2011

"Inspired" Juried Art Exhibit
Historic Buildings and Structures

Commissioner's Gallery, The Cultural Center, Charleston, WV
Purchase Award: Permanent Collection of the West Virginia State Museum
January-June, 2011

West Virginia Arts and Craft Guild
Biennial Competition

November 2010 - April 2011
Honorable Mention

About Me

Like the ancient world composed of the essential elements of earth, air, fire, and water, a photograph depicts a subject with the essential elements of light, shadow, form, and texture. My images seek to capture that essence of the subject: the way it reflects light, it’s form and texture, and how it is modified by light and shadow.

I have been doing photography for something over 40 years, starting with a folding camera and black & white roll film. Over time I dabbled with various formats but mostly I worked in 35mm. I enjoyed the versatility of the 35mm SLR and took on the challenge of making high quality images from this small format.

In the 1960s I worked in a small photo studio where I spent many hours in the darkroom making black and white prints. Then I moved from still photography to television and video. I have now come full circle, returning to photography as art after a 30-year career in visual communication.

Several years ago I embraced the digital world. I now shoot with a Nikon digital camera and my darkroom is a computer, Adobe Photoshop and an archival inkjet printer. The image quality and creative control that you can get with the “digital darkroom” is just astounding.

With the great progress in the development of digital tools for photography over the last few years, the debate is pretty well settled as to whether digitally captured and processed images are valid art forms.

To me, photography is about the image, and the photographer’s vision. All of the technical tools, whether film-based or digitally-based, are are nothing more or less than tools for translating the photographer’s vision into a medium that can enjoyed by others.

Thank you for looking at my work. I hope you find something here you like.

Rip Smith

Email: sterlingimageswv (at) gmail (dot) com

Snail Mail: Sterling Images, PO Box 969, Martinsburg, WV 25402

All Images © 2008-2011 Sterling Smith
All Rights Reserved