I’ve been carrying on a torrid love affair with photography for over 35 years. I respectfully borrow from philosopher Will Rogers’ view of people in claiming that I’ve never met a type of photography I didn’t like. Corporate, landscape, environmental portraiture, table top, animals, people, wide angle, close-up – you name it, I’ve probably done it and want to do more. And that’s been true since I first picked up a 35mm camera as a naive, inexperienced writer/editor of employee publications for Marriott Corporation in the early ‘70s.
And I’m pleased to admit, I see no signs of this love affair letting up any time soon.
Over time, my photographic perspective has evolved into one best labeled as “offbeat.” That is, I’m pulled toward the less obvious angle or perspective, in search of the “image within the image,” the subtle, unconventional view hidden within. Over time and mistakes, I’ve acquired the equivalent of an Ivy League education in the art and techniques of photography. A learning process I have to believe has made me a more sensitive photographer.
My satisfaction derives from the experience of photography, the doing of it, rather than the resulting images.
I’ve played many roles in my professional life – educator, researcher, corporate communication manager, writer/editor, MBA program director, executive coach, among others. But none has challenged me more – creatively or technically – than has being a photographer.
Nor has any role given me greater pleasure or self-satisfaction.
Though a few of my images have been recognized in international photo competitions – e.g., National Geographic Traveler and Smithsonian magazines – and hang in a number of credible venues, but that’s not what fuels my motivation. The truest source of my joy of photography comes from sharing it with close friends, both the shooting of images and the cataloguing of them. Most recently, that’s involved creating photography books, such as the 2007 one I did with buddy Steve Wood (a.k.a. DocWood) on Manhattan and Coney Island (Twenty-Four Hours . . . NYC, available via www.blurb.com). Steve and I, along with others in our infamous Four Foto Friends group (Rick Knapp, Bruce Burtch), are now developing an eclectic array of photo books, ranging from San Miquel de Allende (Mexico) and Oklahoma to the Everglades and the art of baseball.
If you have questions or just want to jaw about photography, please contact me by email at: jdavidpincus@sbcglobal.net.