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Rangefinder Magazine
Columns/January 2002
Rangefinder magazine is officially 50 years old! That’s cause for
celebration where I come from. In the fast-paced, disposable-income, information-technology
age, nothing seems permanent except change. But this magazine has prospered
and grown up alongside the photographic industry, helping shape the creative
and business psyche of five decades of photographers. To celebrate, we
began planning this issue a year ago. We called on photographic legends
who were working pros when Rangefinder began and whose careers are still
going strong today. The criteria for every photographer profiled was that
as they neared the twilight of their careers, their work—their legacy—had
to be as vital as when they first began. Included in this issue are some
of the greatest photographers of our time. Here’s a sampling of the
profiles featured: Don Blair, a gifted photographer and communicator and
one of the world’s leading educators; Phillip Stewart Charis, the
impresario of elegant portrait photography; Peter Gowland, well known
to virtually every photographer in America; Arthur Griffin (recently deceased),
the legendary chronicler of New England; Bill McIntosh, whose quest for
the perfect image continues to inspire generations of portrait specialists;
Monte Zucker, whose vitality and enthusiasm have created legions of devoted
followers; and last but not least, the 100-year old Edward Fox Photography
Studio, a symbol of photographic excellence in the Midwest. To help tell
our story we also feature the musings of veteran photography journalist,
Lynn Jones, who’s been with Rangefinder since it was a 5x8 pamphlet
for Southern California professional photographers. Here’s to the
next 50 years!
Bill Hurter
Editor
ON THE COVER
PHOTOGRAPHER: Phillip Stewart Charis
FILM: Kodak Portra NC 5x7 film
CAMERA: 8x10 Ansco view camera with 5x7
reducing back
LENS: 12-in Ektar
EXPOSURE: Strobe lights at f/8
COMMENTS: “In the late 1950s, with the invention of the color negative,
it was my dream to create wall-size portraits. I began studying the master
painters and soon decided I could use my camera and lights as the painters
used their brushes and palette. The dramatic lighting of Rembrandt’s
portraits and the posing of Gainsborough and Romney influenced my style.”
This portrait epitomizes the blending of backgrounds, props and lighting
so characteristic of the master painters and a style that has endured
for over 300 years. Photographic portraiture can now take the challenge
to continue the lasting tradition.
This portrait was made in 2000 and the model is Mrs. Elvia Zazueta.”
[Editor’s note: As part of our cover design, we incorporated Phillip
Charis’ image into an image of one of The Levin Company’s beautiful
gilded frames. For more information on Mr. Charis, see the article by
Lou Jacobs, which begins on page 12.]
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