One only needs to search ‘windows & doors symbolism’ to learn there are all kinds of theories linked to them. The interpretation I like best thinks of them as portals … to another time, another realm, freedom, or escape. I imagine that they might hold, or release secrets of the past. As always I prefer photographing subjects that are old-fashioned and weathered, so here’s some recent finds. Your comments and favorite choices help me decide if I should add any to a growing ‘Windows & Doors‘ collection on my store site.
Receiving the sad news that my friend and mentor, Albert Horner passed away on Wednesday, May 29th brought fond memories flooding in. Albert was an exceptional photographer dedicated to photographing and preserving The Pinelands of Southern New Jersey. A master printer, Al’s images were always perfectly printed and framed. I remember him saying,“I want my photographs to look like a fine art print” … and they certainly were. He also published a beautiful photo book on The Pinelands … a term he preferred over The Pine Barrens since it is a 1.1 million acre area that was the opposite of barren in his eyes. He worked to educate others on the fragility of this special place through his photography and teaching.
Albert believed it was best to pursue landscape photography where you live, so that you can become totally immersed. He thought it was good to specialize and be known for something in particular. His expertise was not only the landscape of The Pinelands, but the wildflowers that grow there too. He most often photographed in the morning starting out long before sun up. He’d say, “the sun waits for no one!” With the ability to pre-visualize an artistic interpretation of a location he would often go back to a place until he created the something special he had in mind. He knew The Pines inside and out, where to go and when!
I was lucky enough to accompany him on many shoots, and becoming friends we started The Pinelands Photography School, as equal partners. We offered seminars held at The Pinelands Preservation Alliance headquarters, and several field workshops too. The first seminar was called ‘Creating Exceptional Landscape Photographs’ and the second was ‘Wildflowers, Up Close’. Then there was ‘From Capture to Print’ which outlined Adobe Photoshop processing practices and printing. We created instructional slide shows for each of these, and provided folders for each participant that included handouts, related information and coupons. We also gave away prizes donated by some manufacturers, such as lens cloths, rain sleeves and paper samples. It was fun and profitable while it lasted but my moving to Colorado in 2015 was the end for The Pinelands Photography School.
Albert’s website is no longer available but you can see some of his work and hear him talk about it, and his preservation efforts in this video produced by ArtC.
Albert Horner at work photographing in Southern New Jersey’s Pinelands.
Below are some of my own images of The Pinelands. I added an asterisk at the end of the captions to indicate which were captured when I was out shooting with Albert, my friend and mentor!
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