Bio

1953, I was born on a June day, in Trenton, NJ. Being very young at that time, I have no recollection of the event. I also will spare you the details of my childhood, let it suffice to say I am the product of Lawrence Township’s public schools (Lawrenceville, NJ). My first camera was one I purchased for $5.00 and 10 Cheerio’s box tops. I found out rather fast that over time film costs more than equipment. I was formally introduced to photography and using a darkroom in 1966, while in high school (Thank You Mr. Angelotti).

Monochrome has never been a big hit with me. I guess I never got to the stage where, as my favorite photography professor said, “you start to see the world in gray scales.” I see the world in color and want to express myself in that way. I bought an enlarger and color processing tanks learned to use them. I started doing multiple exposures and solarizations using color negatives mostly because no one else was doing it at the time. But the paper and chemistry made those prints too costly in time and money. But, they did attract attention.

When reasonably priced scanners got to 1800dpi I decided to buy one. Adobe Photoshop I ignored until version 5. After the learning curve, I bought a really good scanner (4000dpi Nikon). Shortly after getting Photoshop 6, I sold my darkroom equipment. I get more control and reproducibility with less wasted paper than I ever could get from my chemical darkroom. I am currently using Adobe Photoshop CS4. I can hear the spirits of photography whispering to me, “Buy CS5, it is worth it.”.

I currently reside in the Sonoran Desert city of Mesa, AZ. My abode is a slice of desert in an urban setting. Where my neighbors grow grass to remind them of where they are from, I grow cacti to remind me of where I am. The desert blooms are great to see and I have a fairly low water bill. Friends and family are always welcome to visit! Keep in mind, the heat of summer may be too much for most folks.

Richard Henne