Here's what Ray has to say "I’m a freelance portrait, fine art, and events photographer who has loved photography for decades.  Whether I have a camera with me or not, being a photographer continually deepens my relationship to everyday experiences, visually and emotionally.  I hope I’m a better person for it.

    Seeing like a photographer is to perceive well.  It’s creating images that are more than pretty pictures -- hopefully -- and that trigger the viewer’s inner-voice, that suggest a story, that evolve in the consciousness, that invite a sense of curiosity, that cause one to pause and maybe take a closer look. 

    I tend to create images that look better in black and white, at least to my eye.  I tend to “see” in black and white, looking past the colors that can interfere with an image’s voice.  Although I also create color images, seeing in black and white clarifies my vision for the image and focuses my attention on the essence of the composition.  Photographer Ted Grant once said, 'When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls' .”   

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   We are so proud to feature Ray as our photographer of the month.  This selection of images shows black and white photography elevated to an artistic level that combines grace and beauty with meaning and spontaneity.  How he gets those crowds of people into well organized, easily read compositions and at the same time captures a split second of action and interaction.... well, something to inspire us all.

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“Fleeting moments that pass us by each day.  Moments of awe, or emotions brought to the surface of each viewer.  This can be as simple as a smile or a whimsical look, or just a moment you feel you are part of.  Ray Schneider’s photography captures these moments for each of us to experience.  The simplicity of his images leaves so much to be contemplated, leaving the viewer in thought and wonder.”

-- Cara Weston, Photographer

    Edward Weston Gallery Director

“The best images are not the sharpest ones, the best processed, or ones that obey the rules … they are the ones created from vision and with passion.  As I look at Ray’s images, I feel both and find myself immersed in his vision, seeing how he sees and feeling his passion.  Ray demonstrates how great images are made.”

-- Cole Thompson, Photographer

    Fine Art Photographer

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