Images Unlimited: Resume of Steve Ritchie's Personal Photography


Home American Graveyard Location Nudes Manmade Landscapes Motion Nudes Natural Landscapes Studio Nudes Zebra Nudes Photograph Prices Show Schedule Workshop Resume Contact Us	Resume of Steve Ritchie's Personal Photography For a number of years, Steve's primary subjects have been THE LANDSCAPE, both manmade and natural and the NUDE. His work has been selected for display at national juried Fine Art Exhibits and has received numerous local and regional awards. Ritchie's photographs have been acquired for both private and public collections throughout the country. JURIED ART EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: Best of 2D, Cedarhurst Art Fair, Cedarhurst Mitchel Museum, Mt Vernon, Illinois Three Prints Accepted, Masterpieces of Maturity, Lexington Art League, Lexington, Kentucky Print Accepted, New Culture & Agriculture 2002, New Visions Art Gallery, Marshfield, Wisconsin Best of Photography, Cambridge Art Association National Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, Massachusetts Two Prints Accepted, Maine International Flatworks 2002 Exhibition, University of Maine at Presque Isle, Maine Two Prints Accepted, Honorable Mention, Re-Figured, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, Massachusetts Three Prints Accepted, Boulder Art Association National Juried Exhibit, Crossroads Mall Boulder, Colorado Print Accepted, Lemon Street Gallery Juried Exhibit, Kenosha, Wisconsin Three Prints Accepted, Photographic Process IV, Period Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska Print Accepted, New Mexico Photographer Exhibit, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico Print Accepted, 11th National Art Exhibition, Northern Colorado Artist Association, Ft Collins, Colorado Three Prints Accepted, Anything Goes Exhibit, Gallery 212, Ann Arbour, Michigan Two Prints Accepted, Landscape II, Period Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska Print Accepted, Interpreting Landscapes, Fulton Street Art Gallery, Troy, New York Print Accepted, Artsbridge at Prallsville Mills, Lambertville, New Jersey Best of Graphics, Southern Illinois Artists Open Competition and Exhibition, Cedarhurst Mitchel Museum, Mt Vernon, Illinois Best of Show, St Clair Art Fair, St. Clair, Michigan Collector Award, Magic City Art Connection, Birmingham, Alabama Excellence Award, Marshfield Art Fair, Marshfield, Wisconsin Jurors Discretionary Award, Memphis Invitational Exhibit, Memphis, Tennessee Four Person Group Show, S.I.U. School of Medicine Gallery, Springfield, Illinois WMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM Photographers, Springfield Art Association, Springfield, Illinois Springfield Artists Present, Springfield Art Association, Springfield, Illinois One Man Show, Lincoln Land Community College, Springfield, Illinois 1st Place, Overall, Lincoln Arts Festival, Lincoln, Illinois 1st Place, Photography, Professional Art Exhibition, Illinois State Fair, Springfield, Illinois 2nd Place, Overall, Old Capitol Art Fair, Springfield, Illinois Lenscapes Exhibit, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois One Man Show, North Park College, Chicago, Illinois One Man Show, Eureka College, Eureka, Illinois Two Man Show, Peoria Art Guild, Peoria Illinois, Invitational Exhibit, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois Following formal training in photography at S. I U. Carbondale, he practiced medical photography in Chicago and Springfield. In 1988, he returned to school to complete a B.A. in Business from Western Illinois University. In February of 1990, he and a partner opened, the Photo Resource Center, a complete photo supply & processing store in Springfield. After 10 years of successful business, Ritchie left the business to his partner to pursue his personal photography. A Personal Statement by Stephen Ritchie Each person's vision, his/her view of the world, is unique. A photographer's vision must discern the difference between how the eye sees, and the brain interprets, verses how the camera sees, and the film interprets the scene. Most people see the world as you would skim a page in a book. They view a stream of images evaluated in general terms. A good photographer must pick and choose among those images and use his tools of camera, film, and light to record unique slices of time that we call photographs. Light is the primary tool of the photographer. The word photography comes from the Greek words meaning "light writing". With B&W images, shadows and texture dominate. A photographer's vision must change from seeing the world in color to visualizing it in shades of grey. This, then, is my personal vision, my discrimination, my confrontation, and my ART. Statement of Materials & Techniques I use traditional black & white photographic tools and techniques. I shoot with medium and large format camera equipment for maximum quality. Once the negatives have been processed, they can be scanned and printed digitally, printed using the archival process on fiber based paper, or printed using the more modern "RC" black & white paper. The differences involve time, cost of materials, and the intended audience. The archival process involves printing the negatives using double weight, fiber based photographic paper, using traditional chemicals. The water wash has been lengthened to wash ALL of the residual chemicals out of the paper base. The photographs are then toned using selenium toner. After the prints are air dried on fiberglass screens, the prints are stored or framed using acid free, archival materials. The sum of all this additional effort is that the prints, properly cared for, will last for decades if not for centuries. Museums and collectors often require archivally prepared photographs. The alternative to this fiber based, archival process, is the more modern "RC" or resin coated paper. The advantage of "RC" papers is the fact that these papers don't absorb chemicals. This means that the process and wash times are dramatically reduced. The cost savings in material and in time mean I can offer the same image for less cost to the buyer. For those who wish to own photographs In most cases there is very little difference in the appearance of the photograph. The primary differences between the two processes is longevity or permanence and price.
All images are Copyright © 1997-2003 Stephen Ritchie. The work in these galleries is the property of the photographer, who reserves all rights associated with them. The photographs may be viewed on the internet only, and may not be reproduced, projected, altered, or used in whole or in part in any way withour written permission from the copyright owner.