Self-Portrait Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Here is an abstract I call Self-Portrait, because that is my left fore-finger in the composition. I made this photo by cutting out a piece of thin translucent 3M color key material that I stuck to a piece of clear Plexiglas held in place by static electricity. In back was a black background with colored Christmas tree lights attached. I focused my lens on the cut-out shape at a large aperture and let the colored lights go out of focus. I put my finger in front of the lens, my finger imaged in the out of focus highlights. We photographers call these out of focus disks circles of confusion which is an optical phenomena. This photo was made in 1976 with a Nikkormat FTN 35mm SLR with a Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 lens. The exposure was made wide open at f/2.8 to blur the background. I used an old high speed Kodak Ektachrome tungsten film rated at ISO 125. I developed this film in my own darkroom using E-4 chemicals.

Photography has been my life. I was always curious about what went on inside the camera and in the darkroom. Photography was something mysterious--a little bit of magic plus a little bit of science. It was alchemy. I ventured forth to turn silver halide crystals into gold. Like all photographers I started out as a hobbyist. From home darkrooms to industrial photo labs and in various studios and on-location as a commercial photographer. I have assisted many professional photographers, worked in various labs and studios. My education was from Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo,Iowa. There I received my associate of applied arts degree in photography. I am an alumni of the Winona School of Professional Photography, formally sponsored...