Nikon

Macro - Panorama Photography

pigment inkjet print on Epson Professional Photo Paper

27 x 40 inches edition of 10
White floater frame, acid free backing, non-glare glass.
2022

Artist Statement

I really admire the talent, skill and discipline required of the great painters of hyperrealism. I’m drawn to the practise and as a photographer I’ve produced a series of portraits of objects over the years that I liken to hyper realistic paintings. I’m at it again with this composition of one of my favourite film camera and lens combos the NIKON FE and NIKKOR 85mm. This started as a test shot to explore new equipment I had purchased, along with a new lighting technique and a panorama technique. I was so taken with the composition that I immediately began with the retouching, probably better described as digital painting, that I do to make the subject look iconic and commanding. It is probably not well understood how many hours a photographer can spend digitally painting something like this but it is many, and in my case certainly enough to give me a renewed appreciation of the great painters of hyperrealism.

The old beat-up lens in the composition is a favourite portrait lens of mine that I used back in the nineties to capture hundreds of Canadian actors, dancers and business leaders. I can’t turn on a TV without seeing somebody this lens was used on. I bought it used from a celebrated Canadian photographer. Imagine the adventures, tragedies, heart breaks and triumphs that are contained in the dents and bruises of this lens.