Welcome to the ManyOne Home of Photographer Edwin Firmage

Using large-format (Linhof Technikardan 4x5) and panoramic (Linhof Technorama 617) cameras, I specialize in making limited-edition, fine art photographic prints of the American Landscape that are notable for their sharp, rich detail and vivid, natural colors. In addition to my work as a photographer, I am also an avid writer, and an environmental activist. I invite you to explore each of these dimensions of my work here, and I welcome your feedback.

By training (formal training, that is), I'm a linguist and historian. Anticipating a career in academics, I unexpectedly ended up in the software industry, where I worked for ten years as a marketing director and product manager. That led by further strange paths to my love of photography and my present career as a professional photographer. Those interested can learn more about me on my official website (see below) and in the essays made available here.

My two previous careers, academics and software, still influence what I do and how I do it. In my list of essays, for example, you'll find evidence of a continuing interest in the ancient world, especially the ancient Mediterranean. But the chief passion that drives me now is love of the outdoors and the representation of that love in photography.

Photography, like the other arts, is an aesthetic activity disciplined by craft. Most of the aesthetic considerations that go into making a photograph are in fact identical to those that apply in painting, illustration, or graphic design. Photography therefore distinguishes itself from these in its craft, in the use of camera, lens, and darkroom (or its digital equivalent) instead of brush and pencil. I often say that I paint with a camera.

But for me the essence of photography is not in the craft, or for that matter the aesthetics. It's in experiencing a relationship with what I'm photographing. It is this relationship that is vital. The relationship begins, as love so often does, at first sight. Something attracts me. I follow. The next step, in both a literal and a metaphorical sense, is an engagement — an intimate, privileged relationship of discovery. It's during this engagement with my subject that I can more carefully explore its aesthetic possibilities. The photograph itself is the consummation of this relationship.

efirmage@firmageditions.com

Tel. 801-424-3041 (MST)  Fax. 801-272-5135

Related Website: http://www.firmageditions.com/