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Photographer of the Month

Mary Stamper

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Here's what Mary has to say:

"When I was a child, I always wanted a camera. My father’s sister and my mother had them, but neither of them had an eye for composition and my mom in particular, had the photographic equivalent of a black thumb! Also, for some reason, I had an instinctive prejudice against “easy-to-use” automatic cameras. During my school years,  my interest in music eclipsed my interest in photography. About a year into my first job in computer programming, I went to Mid-City camera in Center City, Philadelphia and bought a Nikon FE2. That shopping trip not only started my now-lifelong photographic adventure, but the salesman is to this day my photo-buddy.

     I am largely self-taught. I learned out of an old book called Understanding Photography by Carl Shipman. It had loads of text and almost no photos except for black and white mathematical charts. I shot only color slide film and liked to photograph pretty much everything except people (though the occasional humanoid slips into a shot!).  I learned that I had a natural eye, which may have come from my father’s other sister, who was a wonderful water-colorist who loved to paint landscapes of the countryside. The only art class that I ever took was a mandatory class taught to us in 8th grade. The teacher focused almost entirely on 20th century art movements. I didn’t take the class too seriously back then, because music took up most of my non-academic time, but in retrospect, I realize just how much I owe to that class. I cannot draw or paint to save my life, but the camera seems to provide ample alternatives. Some favorite influences are the flower paintings of Georgia O’keefe, the landscape work of the Hudson River School painters, the Czech photographer Josef Sudek, the so-called “pictorial”  photography of Alfred Stieglitz and his “Photo Secessionist” movement, and of course, the black and white landscape work of Ansel Adams, who by the way, was also a pianist.

When digital “happened”, it was still very expensive, so I took a hiatus from photography until the relatively affordable Nikon D70 was released in around 2005.  

     I do both black and white and color work, but have come to appreciate the value of black and white in highlighting the abstract elements of composition. I enjoy the technical aspects of photographing with digital equipment, as well as the classic science of optics. Photography has kept me sane during all sorts of trying times such as the illnesses and deaths of loved ones and during this COVID crisis."

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Mary is the perfect choice to share with us how black and white can capture the mood of winter: cold, still, stark and beautiful.

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Click on thumb nails to see full images.

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