Warren Krupsaw

Photography

As a student (and house guest) of Ansel Adams, my career as a nature photographer took flight when I earned a M.F.A. in photography under Harry Callahan at the Rhode Island school of Design (R.I.S.D.). I was also one of the first students in the graduate photography program at M. I. T. with Minor White at which time I photographed in Antarctica (1966) covering "Operation Deep Freeze." 

In college, my thesis was about the subjectivity of perception, so for quite some time it has been my feeling that we all “see” (perceive) differently.  In graduate school (Rhode Island School of Design, 1966-1968) while reading The Daybooks of Edward Weston, my greatest influence, I resonated with his stated desire “to reveal the essence of the thing” and “to perceive more clearly than the eye can see.”  Taking the time for close observation, my subjects often reveal themselves in wondrous ways.  As a kind of “visual organizer,” I also closely identify with Weston's contention that “composition is the strongest way of seeing.”

Photographically, at least in terms of equipment, I am a dinosaur.  The 35mm camera I use (Leicaflex SL-2) hasn't been made for 30 years.  For all close-up and macro work the 60mm lens (usually with a 2x-extender) is utilized.  Other Leitz lenses include 21, 35, 90, and 250mm.  Whenever feasible a tripod is used so the longer exposures, necessitated by closing the lens down (f/16) for maximum depth of field, are usually not a problem unless the wind is blowing. All work is by natural light; no flash, no filters.

For my flower work a cut bloom (yes! As one incredulous grower exclaimed, I work with dead flowers) is turned every-which-way with one eye shut so as to more closely replicate the camera's mono-vision and then carefully placed on black velveteen or some natural form (coral, piece of bark, etc) that has been spray-painted matte black.  This is then usually positioned so that my subject is back-lit, thereby standing out from the background.  For the most part this is table-top photography (I often use a trash can or improvise with whatever is at hand.)

Of course all the usual admonitions and truisms of photography apply to my process: crop with your camera, bracket your exposures, try to develop an awareness of light (keeping in mind that sometimes better color saturation occurs in open shade or overcast conditions ), work with one film long enough to become familiar with its characteristics, pay attention to what's going on in the background, simplify whenever possible (less is more) and finally - edit ruthlessly.

Generally, I consider myself a “straight” photographer so any “enhancement” for the most par involves additional background reduction.  But now I've “discovered” one of the distortion filters in Photoshop (CS-2) called Polar Coordinates (only accessible in 8-bit mode) that I find intriguing.  Here, certain flower images seem to lend themselves to a treatment that results in an often unpredictable transformation.

 I have exhibited my work at numerous venues including The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, The National Portrait Gallery, The National Academy of Sciences, The Corcoran Gallery of Art and New York City's Underground Gallery. My work has been favorably reviewed in The New York Times and The Village Voice, while photographs have been published in several books including On the Ice, Investigating the Earth, and The Polaroid Book. My work as appeared in many magazines, including: Camera, Smithsonian, Popular Photography, Modern Photography, Mineral Digest, and Garden Design. Some of the collections holding my work include The Library of Congress, Harvard, M.I.T., R.I.S.D., George Eastman House, the Scott Polar Research Institute of England and the National Museum of Canada. 

 

Over the years I have traveled broadly, through many parts of North America including Hawaii, the American Southwest, and eastern Canada, as well internationally to Costa Rica, Madagascar, New Zealand, Japan, Western Europe, Scandinavia, the Galapagos, Antarctica (l987), the sub Antarctic Islands of New Zealand & Australia, and Iceland (once in winter and once in summer). Most of my time, however, is spent locally involved with exploring the visual significance of everyday experience.