Because of my involvement with photography for almost half a century, I have witnessed the radical transformation of the medium from film to digital. In the early part of this journey I spent many hours in the darkroom, but that has also evolved—into computer time.

Initially studying the work of Ansel Adams and his peers provided mentoring that helped me to understand the Zone System. He (Ansel Adams) pre-visualized what he wanted to depict and achieved his goals by both in-camera and darkroom manipulations. Today’s technologies allow us to alter images in ways that were impossible only a few years ago. The old time photographers would likely have been very envious of the ease with which we are now able to make these changes.

To stay current in this evolutionary process required continual learning. Taking workshops from many talented teachers aided me in this process. With the recent isolation, prompted by the pandemic, I have done multiple workshops to fine-tune my skills with Photoshop, layering, flower photography and the utilization of textures in my images. Probably what I enjoy the most is now called “post processing” which basically means tinkering with the photograph after capturing the image. Rarely, I may be satisfied with the result within a few minutes, but more often it takes several manipulations over time to achieve the desired result.

At 94 it is still exciting to look forward to producing an image that evokes an emotional response in the viewer by virtue of either the beauty of the scene or by reminding the viewer in some nostalgic way of past memories. The goal is to have you look at the image and say “Wow!” Since everyone’s taste in art is different, my hope is that there is at least one “wow” in this collection for each of you.

I am always open to constructive criticism, so I would enjoy your comments.

Sherwood Samet