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 So the first thing you need to know is that
I'm a photographer with lousy vision. I was born very nearsighted,
only partially correctable - as in "Don't let me drive your
car". Whether it be through ignorance, stubbornness or over-compensation,
I guess you could say I've "blindly" refused to face
the facts.
As a kid, I may have been attracted to photography because it
could extend my vision - bring things closer so I could see the
details. But then I discovered I could use it to see things people
with good vision couldn't. Now *that* was satisfying! Turns out
the truth is, when it comes to photography how well you see has
only a little to do with how well you "see".
For me, it's more about the other kind
of "vision". It's about light, composition, form, simplicity.
It's about capturing and conveying those elusive moments that
tell little stories - or suggest an essence, a mood, a message
or a mystery.
Most of my work is spontaneous and unplanned.
I put myself in an interesting place, and let the light and my
eye lead me to a subject. It almost doesn't matter what subject.
Then the fun begins. Shooting handheld, I become like a kid -
curious, excited and willing to see things in new and sometimes
odd ways. I look closer, I ask what if?, I crawl on my belly,
I jiggle the camera. It's way too much fun and should probably
be illegal.
I'm almost embarrassingly low tech when
it comes to my gear and film stock. I shoot regular, old Kodak
or Fuji negative, and work with an ancient, beat up, manual Minolta
SRT 101 from the early 70's with three basic lenses - a 28mm,
a 55mm and a 135mm. Throw in a couple polarizing filters and
the occasional close up lens, and that's the rig. It's not that
I don't like the toys. It's just I've learned that most good
photography has little to do with equipment or film stock.
I've been shooting stills since I got
that first Brownie Hawkeye as a kid, and although I've taken
a few classes over the years, I've mostly learned by doing, viewing,
and frankly, screwing up. No doubt that will continue, but learning
and growing as a photographer and an artist means trying new
things and taking some chances. So that's what's up for me now
- letting my camera and my lousy eyesight lead me to new ways
of seeing the world. And hopefully, my photographs will help
viewers remember what lives just beyond our daily "nearsightedness". |
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CONFESSIONS OF A PHOTO ADDICT
I was a kid when it started - a mere innocent.
My folks got me a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye - my 1st camera. "Here
kid", they said. "Enjoy it". What they should
have said was, "Here kid. first one's free."
It was nothing at first, a 12 exposure
roll here - couple of flash bulbs there. Before I knew it, I
fell in with a fast crowd - hanging out in dark rooms!. Experimenting
with CHEMICALS!!
 It was then I started to break the rules.
I began ignoring "NO TRESPASSING" signs. Sometimes,
just for the thrill, I'd tilt the camera so the horizon WASN'T
HORIZONTAL!!! Finally, I had to get a paper route & sell
seeds door to door to feed my habit.
I did try to seek help. I joined a therapy
group for photo addicts based on the "12 Stop" program.
It didn't click. Everywhere I looked, people were selling film,
never once asking for an ID. Soon I was out on the streets again,
always angling for that next shot.
Oh, I'd do anything to get high - climb trees, poles, fences,
stairs - I had no pride. It got so I didn't care what people
thought as I lay in the street with my wide angle lens stuck
out there for all to see.
I hit bottom in Amsterdam. In a Koda-crazed
state, I strapped on every piece of gear I'd brought - 2 cameras,
4 lenses, 4 kinds of film, light meters, filters, batteries and
a tripod - and walked into town to shoot. Powerful images everywhere
- wonderful architecture - smiling faces - magical light - scrumptious
french fries. I couldn't crank a frame.
 Today, of course, I can see it for the
classic photo overdose it was - the dazed, crazed and glazed-over,
pack mule photographer - unable to make a decision. At the time
though, it was devastating. I was a broken man - deep in denial
- with sore feet.
From then on, my shame knew no bounds.
When the urge to shoot became too big, I'd go hang out with tourists
so I'd blend in, Then I'd sneak to the lab at night and secretly
savor my prints in private. Then,
finally, a breakthrough. The day every photographer dreams of
- I saw the light. But wait! It was coming from a computer monitor!
And before I could say, "dot-com", I was caught in
the Web.
The Web has really helped me take responsibility
for what I'd become. The only way out was to shout it to the
world from the highest rooftop (where I had climbed to get a
good angle) that I WAS a ph.... ph.... PHOTOGRAPHER and PROUD
of it!! Whew, there, I said it.
The only thing that bothers me is that
computer store clerk who threw in a CD of Internet software and
said, "Here kid. This one's free" |
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| CONTACT INFORMATION / RESUME |
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Alan Babbitt
Fine Art Photography
89 Willow Ave.
Fairfax, CA 94930, USA
415-485-1688
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| 1999 |
Milt Wallace Video, San Francisco |
| 1998 |
Milt Wallace Video, San Francisco |
| 1997 |
Created personal online photography
gallery - www.abproductions.com |
| 1992 |
"Urban Lines, Shadows &
Body Parts" Fairfax, CA Public Library |
| 1990 |
Spanky's Restaurant, Fairfax, CA |
| 1976 |
San Francisco Public Library, Richmond
Branch |
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| 2007 |
Old Enough to Buy Art - Melting Point Gallery - San Francisco - Exhibit and Sale to benefit The National Parkinson's Foundation |
| 2005 |
"The Human Element" - Coastal Arts League - Half Moon Bay, CA |
| 2003 |
"Urban Landscapes" - Coastal Arts League - Half Moon Bay, CA |
| 2000 |
28th Annual Juried Photgraphy Exhibition
- Larson Gallery - Yakima, WA - all 4 entries chosen |
| 1999 |
27th Annual Juried Photgraphy Exhibition
- Larson Gallery - Yakima, WA |
| 1998 |
Featured photographer on Pomegranates,
an art and literary online magazine |
| 1992 |
Mill Valley Photo Competition |
| 1975 |
de Young Museum Art School - several
exhibitions |
| 1976-78 |
North Beach Photo Fair |
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| 1999 |
4th place (over 29,000 entries) -
Canon/Photographer's Forum Magazine |
| 1993 |
Silver award - Art of California
Magazine |
| 1992 |
Mill Valley Photo Competition |
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| TEACHING / ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT |
| 1986-92 |
Knowledge Industries - Developed
and taught workshops in Visualization, Visual Aesthetics and Creative Concepts |
| 1975 |
de Young Museum Art School, San Francisco
- Created art videos, taught classes & exhibited. |
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| 2007 |
Marin Independent Journal - "Tremor Enhanced" - Feature Article by Paul Liberatore |
| 1998 |
Marin Independent Journal - Online
photo gallery chosen "Web Site of the Week". |
| 1992 |
Marin Independent Journal - Review
of solo exhibition. |
| 1978 |
The Reel Thing - "Shooting The
Shoot" - article about shooting production stills. |
| 1976 |
San Francisco Chronicle - photograph
published |
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Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Fine, Charlotte, NC
Milt & Carol Wallace, Sonoma, CA
Dr. Joseph Armel, Mill Valley, CA
Stephen Kopels, San Francisco, CA
Bob Baker, Sun Valley, ID |
The Schulmans, Moraga, CA
Carol Nyhoff, Berkeley, CA
Don Jacobs, Las Vegas, NV
Debbie Fine, Washington, DC6
Debbie and Jim Krasne, Scottsdale, AZ |
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| From1960 |
Ongoing, mostly self-taught, still
photography |
| 1969 |
B.A. in Visual Communications, University
of Nebraska |
| 1992 |
Workshop with Photographer Brenda
Tharpe. |
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| BORN |
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| 1947 |
Brooklyn, New York |
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High quality, archival prints of my photographs are available
at reasonable prices.
If you'd like to license the use of photographs on this website
for such purposes as advertising, multimedia, brochures, etc.,
or to offer an assignment, please contact Alan at 415-485-1688 or |
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