October’s Artist: Bruce Arnold (A Snapshot)

When did you first realize you wanted to be an artist?

My brother gave me his used 35 mm camera when I was 14 and I started first by taking pictures of landscapes and nature scenes.  Later I experimented by taking candid portraits of my friends and family.  Once I set up a darkroom in my parent’s basement and started to develop and print my own black and white images I was hooked. From that point I studied photography whenever I had time and planned to someday have a career in photography.

Who or what has influenced your work the most?

Time Life Photographer Larry Burrows was a Vietnam war correspondent in the 1960s.  Because of his dedication to image capture I was inspired to learn all I could about the art of photography. I have been fortunate to have many talented teachers and mentors, both artists and professional photographers.

Do you remember the first piece of art you created that felt truly meaningful to you?

My first image I considered “artful” was an image taken of an apple tree in back of my parents’ home, it was a winter scene and I titled the image “Apple Tree in Winter”. Pretty deep huh?

How has your upbringing or culture shaped your artistic voice?

As a kid my parents encouraged me to play music, first violin, then piano, and then the guitar.  Although my parents were both partial to classical music, they were always supportive of all my musical endeavors, even learning to play rock and roll!    Later, as I studied photography, they we extremely supportive of that line of study. Early on my dad didn’t want me to become a professional photographer, but he still supported me 100%. After nearly 60 years in the business, I love sharing my knowledge of the photography world and I enjoy teaching others.

Creative Process:

I work spontaneously most of the time however some subjects require pre planning and scouting to identify the best time and angle to make an image. In some cases, you need to study your subject carefully before trying to photograph it. I enjoy recording images in both digital and traditional old fashion films.  However, I do mostly digital now because it offers ease of post-production. 

Themes & Meaning

Each photograph is a story or can have several stories in it. An image with out emotion doesn’t exist.  I want people to share the same vision I have of the subject. It’s important that the viewer explores and discovers features, composition, direction of light, brightness, color tone and contrast in an image.

Career & Growth: What challenges have you faced as an artist, and how did you push through them?

When I was younger and in my teens, the 1960s, photography wasn’t universally accepted as an “artform”.  Photography gradually became more accepted as an artform in the mid 1970s and early 1980s.  Staying motivated to continue to do fine art photography was tough when there was no market for it.  I just focused on the retail/commercial side of the business to earn a living.

I do believe I was put on earth to share my love of photography and my vision with others, so I guess that would be “a calling”.

Perspective & Advice

Shared vision communicates at all levels on environmental, social, economic, natural, educational and political events.  Art changes the way we perceive the world. Find what you like, NEVER STOP.