Feb. 2000
President's
Message
Portrait of ...
Article: Photographic Lenses - A Follow-up
Portrait Of ...
Ray Fausel
I came to photography in the usual way, someone gave me an old Kodak Brownie Camera. I still remember looking at the pictures I took of Niagara Falls and Fort Ticonderoga. My age must have been about 9 or 10.
That started it. I can't even imagine how many photographs I've taken since then, about 44 years, easily in the tens of thousands. If you ask my wife, she'd insist I still have every negative and slide in the house. It's hard to throw them away, even the ones you know are no good. But as my photography improved, I have become more discriminating about what is acceptable.
While photography has been a constant in my life, I can't say the same about my job history. I have worked for Con Edison, the utility company in New York. Also, I have been the world's worst salesman, a cab driver in New York City, a typesetter, and finally an elementary school teacher which hopefully will be my last profession.
All cab drivers have stories and I have my share. One that directly relates to photography was when I picked up a woman at La Guardia Airport to drive back to New York City. In the course of our conversation she mentioned she was a photographer. I asked her what her name was. She told me I wouldn't have heard of her. "Give me a try," I said. Answering, she said her name was Ruth Orkin. "I know you, you did two books on Central Park as seen from your window," I replied. She was impressed and we spent the rest of the ride to the city talking about photography. Needless to say, it was one of my most pleasant experiences while I was driving a cab.
Personally, in my own photography, I am more interested in the colors than I am in the scenery when I am doing Color Photography. In Black and White work I am fascinated by shadows and how the shadows fall on things. I am always discovering something new to photograph and as I've gotten older my toys have gotten more expensive. I believe this has been helpful in my photography. Now I am using the Nikon N90S and while I have not mastered all its bells and whistles, I am quite happy with it.