DAVID MCCRAE

I began photographing with a Kodak Brownie and learned the process of photography from my grandparents in Colorado, both dedicated amateur photographers and naturalists. Process was left behind for theory while studying art history at the University of California, San Diego, although chemistry and the beach kept interfering.

While in graduate school, my muse, Suzanne, and I built a darkroom in a closet so we could work together creatively on photography despite pursuing our individual fields of study. In 1979 we met Dan Fear, owner of the Silver Image Gallery in Seattle, one of the earliest U.S. photography galleries. Through Dan we were introduced to a wonderful assortment of artists. Inspired, we attended workshops and worked on our photography seriously through the ‘80s. Careers slowed efforts to a minimum in the ’90s.

With the arrival of the digital darkroom at our Berkeley home in 2000, I began working under the tutelage of Jules Spilman, a painter and sculptor trained at the Chicago Art Institute. He offered me my first show in 2004 at his Gallery and Salon, and so a new phase began.

The history of photography is replete with examples of image capture without a camera. My present focus, ‘From a Scanner, Darkly,’ began when I had no time to work with film. Instead, a scanner and a computer became my substitute for photosensitive materials and a darkroom.

I now use both analog and digital image capture, with, and without camera and lens. Images are printed digitally with pigment inks on archival paper.

David's artistic philosophy in his own words:
“Day by day, I find the world to be a truly amazing place. These images are my attempt to communicate that feeling.”