For over 40 years Kevin’s practice has explored a range of image-making techniques, from large format film to digital, motion, drone and wetplate photographic work. With a degree in photography from Rochester Institute of Technology, Kevin started his own commercial studio in Philadelphia working on food photography for national and international advertising accounts.
Today, with a primary focus on the historic wetplate photographic process from the 1800s and other alternative processes, his artworks highlight humanity and the delicate nature of life through the use of portraiture, botanicals and collaboratively produced imagery. His photography is displayed in private and public art collections throughout the US.
Kevin’s love of nature and gardening has inspired the botanical collection being shown in "The Art of Quarantine”. Many of these photographs are created using his own original tintype and ambrotype images. Tintypes were originally made popular during the 1800’s as a way of preserving memories in pictures. In contrast to that, the color images use more traditional photographic technology and display the differences in image creation over the past 150 years.
Artist Statement
I have been a photographer since the early 1970’s. I have a degree in Advertising & Studio photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. Most of my commercial work is digital, video and drone photography for advertising firms around the country.
Most of my career has taken place back East in Philadelphia and New York. I started photography working in large format 8x10 film and miss the intentionality and the ‘crafting’ of the image that happened then. I am currently drawn to shooting in the wetplate techniques from the 1840's that include shooting on black glass directly imaged in the camera. These are called Ambrotypes. As the black glass plate is coated wet and then loaded into a view camera and the image is made, these are one of a kind images and products. If the subject moves or the glass plate is damaged or dropped, that image is lost forever. Since the images are made while everything is wet, they are prone to artifacts that are not normally found in the digital work of today. When I closely look at them, I see little universes and stars in the swirls of the chemistry on plate. So there are a few levels of imagery here. Subject and artifact come together in one image.
I do however scan digitally the final, varnished plate for my records. These plates are varnished to protect them from tarnish as the image is made up entirely of pure silver molecules sitting upon black glass.
For the past 6 years I have worked with my partner on a women’s health site that focuses upon the use of complementary and alternative medicine in conjunction with modern Western medicine to better the outcomes in the health of the individual.
I travelled around parts of the country seeking landscapes that spoke to me while I focused on some of these concepts of healing. The intention of these landscapes is to help the viewer find some healing in the natural view while attending the New Mexico Cancer Center.