MEET STAN ADELSTEIN
“Photography is a perfect medium for me as an artist because my work doesn’t come from my imagination–it comes from paying attention to what is already there.”
Like many, I’ve had a keen interest in photography since a young age. My earliest memories relating to the subject date back to when I was 6 or 7 years old and living in Los Angeles, where I was born and raised. My younger sister and I accompanied our parents on a drive up to the mountains to see our two older sisters on Visitors’ Day at the overnight summer camp they were attending (and where we both would attend in the coming years). My father showed me how to use his twin lens reflex camera, and for whatever reason, allowed me to commandeer his camera and shoot all the rolls of film he had brought up with him for our half day visit. I was fascinated, captivated, and hooked. Currently, I enjoy living in the Denver metropolitan area of Colorado, where I continue to pursue my ardent enthusiasm for photography.
I am largely self-taught. I learned about photography by reading, shooting, and browsing through books filled with historical and renowned photos. Much was gleaned and absorbed from a comprehensive, expansive and interrelated series of books that I purchased sequentially by mail-order. Each volume in the progression
delved into a separate topic in great detail. Practically every facet of the medium, both historically and operationally, was covered at length. Much was also learned in the darkroom I set up in the basement of my parents’ home while in high school where I developed and printed my own black and white photos.
As a young photographer, I was initially drawn to the medium by its ability to capture, document, and preserve moments in time. But as I admired noteworthy and enthralling photographs, I struggled to recognize and appreciate the art contained in them, which I instinctively knew was there, but was unable to articulate. As I grew older, I began to understand the emotional aspects of photography, as well as the need to learn how to express the reactions I was feeling when something caught my eye.
I realized that it is a combination of both the dichotomy and blending of a variety of elements that attracted my interest. Photography is a merger of many disparate factors including:
Art & Science
Technical & Creative
Mechanical & Emotional
Truth & Imagination
Documentary & Interpretive
Natural & Artificial
Real & Contrived
Functional & Entertaining
For me, photography is as much about the physics of light and optics, the science of electronic image sensors, and the fundamentals of exposure, composition, and color theory, as it is about essence, authenticity, expression, compassion, empathy, and communication.
As odd as it may appear, my area of specialty is generalization. I shoot a wide variety of genres. Common denominators are genuineness and enthusiasm. My approach is one of “Look what I saw!”, complete with ardor and an attitude of truthfulness in observation and discovery. Hopefully, I capture some of the basic elements deemed necessary to achieve a good shot, namely an interesting subject, good light, compelling composition, and the essence of a moment never to be repeated. Other attributes for me may include the juxtaposition of seemingly incongruent components or highlighting the contradictions of a reality. Areas of photography yet for me to explore include astro, underwater, aerial, microscopic, infrared, abstract, and extreme post processing.
Another common feature in my photography is the general lack of manipulation. My efforts are directed toward accuracy in the representation of my subjects without changing the character of what I’m shooting. I want to cement a memory, document history, fix a moment, capture beauty, tell a story, memorialize an event, share an experience, convey an emotion, inform others, connect people, and perhaps even instruct.
A durable personal philosophy of mine is to avoid exploiting the vulnerable or disadvantaged, and not to embarrass. That does not mean that I believe it is wrong to photograph the poor, document the brutalities of war, display the misery of poverty or the torture of mental illness. These are not areas of photography that I pursue, but, if undertaken, they need to be done with compassion, dignity, and respect. I don’t bait creatures in the wild, and I try not to disturb or disrupt wildlife in their environment or cause them any stress.
Fundamentally, I only apply simple cropping measures to my images and perform basic editing practices. Post processing is part-and-parcel to the practice of photography, whether engaged digitally or via film. Many correctly argue that the sophisticated tools used in today’s digital photography are simply technology-based extensions of traditional darkroom techniques originally associated with film photography, although some may be taken extreme. My intent is to reflect the true nature of the subject or moment, and to utilize available processing tools, digital or chemical, to minimally enhance, but not alter or distort, the character or integrity of the images I have captured.
Among several other interests of mine is a long-term involvement in motorcycling. I am an avid road rider and sport-touring enthusiast. I’ve taken several multi-thousand mile trips, and don’t consider myself a “drug store biker” or a fair-weather rider. Inclement weather is not usually an issue for me. Heat, rain, and cold don’t stop me, although they may slow me down. Wind, on the other hand, is the condition I dislike the most. You can’t see it, and usually don’t know what to expect from it.
I tend not to mix my motorcycling and photography pursuits, even though many might think the two activities would naturally go together. However, when I’m riding, I’m more interested in relishing the ride, appreciating the scenery, and experiencing the pure, esoteric joy of riding. Generally, my goal is to reach the next destination as quickly as possible rather than stopping frequently, pausing along the way, to set up a photo. If that were the case, I might never get to my day’s target endpoint. On the other hand, while shooting, I’m already at my destination and interested in observing, freezing, and documenting what is before me. Can the twain ever meet? I certainly think so; it just doesn’t work out that way for me. Both are activities that can be enjoyed in solitude or with company. So, let’s ride, er, let’s shoot!
“The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.”