From the Editor: VOL. 3, NO.1 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2002


Boy, did I have a busy week. On Thursday, July 4, I drove to Santa Fe to participate in Review Santa Fe. I had been invited by Nancy Foley, of the Santa Fe Center for Visual Arts to participate as a reviewer. For two days, Friday and Saturday, I and a group of prestigious members of the photographic community which included Deborah Aaronson from Harry N. Abrams books, Gary Chassman from Verve Editions, Darius Himes, Wendy Lewis and Rixon Reed from Photo-Eye books, Diana Stoll from Aperture magazine, W.M. Hunt of the Ricco/Maresca Gallery in New York, and more than twenty others, poured critically over the work of several hundred photographers. Every one of the twenty-four portfolios I was asked to critique was outstanding. More than one will make it into a future issue of Photovision.

The drive to Santa Fe from my home is about 3-1/2 hours south. Leaving Santa Fe Saturday afternoon, I drove back home, fed and played with my cats, then left early on Sunday morning for Colorado Springs, 3-1/2 hours north. The cats were righteously indignant. In the Springs I gave a talk to a group of over 50 photographers who had submitted work to the first Rocky Mountain Regional Show, which I had jurored.

In addition to the 71 prints which I had selected, the show also included the excellent color photography of father and son, David and Marc Muench (which I did not jury but was an extra bonus for the show attendees). The next morning, Monday, I selected the Best of Show and three places. I thought it would take twenty minutes and I would be out of there. It took over two hours for me to decide.

Immediately after making my four selections I hopped in the mobile and drove 3-1/2 hours home, picked up my Agfa-Ansco view camera, and took off for Flagstaff, Arizona, ten hours west. The cats were righteously indignant.

I had been invited to attend a workshop on Beyond the Zone System (BTZS) techniques, taught by the master, Phil Davis, and sponsored by the View Camera Store. It was a tremendous workshop, I personally got a lot out of it, and we had a great time. We ate, worked on our technique, ate, worked, ate, worked, ate, ate, ate, worked, ate some more and ended up at 10p.m. bleary-eyed and barely standing at Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor. We closed the house.

I left for home on Saturday afternoon, arriving on Sunday, where the galleys for my new book, The Nude at Big Sur, and the first draft of this issue, waited for me on a desk already piled high enough to dwarf the Tower of Babble (sic), which is exactly what I have been doing ever since. All of the above goes to prove that photography is still alive, well, and practiced by many.

In my opinion, this is the most remarkable issue we have yet done. It includes the work of three incredible photographers, Jerry Uelsmann, Connie Imboden, and Misha Gordin. All three work in the realm of the imagination as much as the real world. Their collective work makes a powerful statement that I am certain will take you many viewings to fully digest.

We also have a second article from the irrepressible Dennis Chin, who is currently traveling in Tibet working on assignment. This month Dennis shares his ideas on photographing Fall Color.

We also start a three part series on toning by Dr. Tim Rudman, who authored the piece on Lith Printing in the May/June 2001 issue. Dr. Rudman’s new book, The Master Photographer’s Toning Book will be released in the UK in September, with plans to release it in the USA in Spring 2003.

Steve Anchell
Senior Editor