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| Revisiting an American Tradition: Photographs by David J. LaBella
Landscapes,
Waterscapes, Seasonal Impressions and Abstracts
Being a self-taught photographer with no formal training would seem to be a distinct disadvantage in as competitive a field as landscape photography. While it is true that it is difficult to find an outlet or market for images without the advantage of a focused education dedicated to an artistic career, it is by no means a disqualification or a nullification of the desire to create and exhibit work that is authentic in its expression of a passion for the subject and for the medium. Dave
LaBella is a professional photographer living in Connecticut and working, when
time allows, throughout the United States on the landscapes that suit him best.
Having grown up in the heavily populated and densely wooded Northeast made it
necessary to become sensitive to more subtle and smaller scale landscapes; creating
a style that applies well both to subjects close to home and to the more imposing
locations out West. While finding that the genius of hindsight has engendered
considerable regret at not aiming his education in a direction that would have
served him better in pursuing photography as a full-time profession, over the
past several years Dave has been able to find, with the help of many kind and
enthusiastic supporters, considerable exposure for his work in gallery spaces
and has been published in calendars, magazines, brochures and online journals.
Please accept his welcome, then, to this website. It offers a number of images
organized into several categories. All images reproduced here were created using
a Linhof 4" x 5" field camera and Schneider lenses on Fuji Velvia film.
Please feel free to comment or inquire about specific photographs concerning how
or under what conditions they were taken at the e-mail address to be found at
the contact page. Orders for poster or stock imagery will be handled in the same
fashion. Revisiting
An American Tradition: One
of the most consistent aspects of American culture is its two hundred year old
heritage of landscape art. As much as it is a hallmark of our modern society to
saturate the media markets with beautiful images of all of the familiar wonders
found in our parklands; so, too, is the indelible will of some of us to immerse
ourselves in the tradition of Americas' most characteristic art form. This exhibition
reflects my own appreciation of nature and of the work of those who have established
this tradition. European
landscape art illustrated a continent that had been so thoroughly populated and
developed that there were very few places not dominated by architecture or agriculture.
Wild and empty spaces were regarded with a sense of dread and alienation; as wastelands
not worthy of occupation, and the art reflects this. In America, empty lands always
seemed to be the next hill or around the next river bend, limitless and composed
of marvelous landforms never before seen. Such countryside beckons, offering an
endless supply of land for the taking. Whereas European landscape art soon followed
the will to create through expression. American landscape art came to exemplify
and even to serve the national character - the wilderness became something noble
and attainable: America realized that its endless frontier offered both promise
and power; the excitement of the unknown and the realization that possession of
the land is the wellspring of wealth and satisfaction. Paradoxically,
as the frontier expanded and fed Americas' growth; fueled in part by mass publication
of explorers journals and artists renderings of the far West, so, too grew the
recognition that something must be preserved in its natural state for the benefit
of future generations so that the thrill felt by the first few observers could
be felt by the many. Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran painted the
landscapes that became Yosemite, Yellowstone and other preserves throughout the
country. Only a generation later, the first black and white photographers followed
the painters and added their work to what became a uniquely American art form:
wilderness landscape illustrative art. The pioneering work of Eadward Muybridge,
Carleton Watkins and WIlliam Henry Jackson helped lend momentum to the early environmental
movement. In the twentieth century,
landscape photography as an art form became refined by masters such as Ansel Adams,
Cedric Wright and Edward Weston. Concurrently, an increasing market for an awareness
of photography as a legitimate art form led to a wider public acceptance of what
had been a narrowly endorsed form of artistic expression. The growth of color
landscape photography, pioneered by Elliot Porter and Philip Hyde, has led to
a mass market industry dominated by modern masters such as David Muench and Carr
Clifton wherein the competition is fierce and the stakes are high, yet the original
message remains: the sense of wonder and the desire to find a fresh vision and
a previously unseen vista, the wish to record and to preserve what little is left
for whoever may come next. Art photography is as much a tool for environmental
preservation now as it was over a hundred years ago. The
greatest challenge to landscape photography is to it's legitimacy as an art form.
Comparison with other subject matter, increased utilization of digital technology
as a part of the process, market saturation with technically sound but occasionally
repetitive images - all of these add up to much more than nagging doubts: indeed,
uncertainty is always present. So much the better - for from doubt springs purpose
and originality and the artists' eye is stretched and made more bold by having
felt it legitimacy called to question. As long as any artists' eye frames a concept
that creates an act of expression, and as long as that concept and the execution
of its expression show cohesion and convergence, art will be valid - it is like
the landscape: vast and begging for exploration. It is this same sense of wonder
that has come to motivate me; that and the hope that, in some small way, I may
contribute to the long and respected history of American landscape art.
Over the course of the last ten years as a professional artist, David's work has been featured in over sixty individual and juried exhibitions throughout southern New England and New York, including showings at Pfizer Corporation, The Brick Gallery in Essex, CT, and the Hart Senate Building in Washington, DC. Images from Labella Photographic have appeared in nationally distibuted calendars, informational brochures, and online publications in here in the States and in England.
A self-taught photographer and professional artist, David LaBella believes that the image itself is what defines fine photography; seeking to create finished work on the film, not on the computer screen. Learning through extensive travel and using an educational background weighted toward geography, history and the natural sciences, his most fervent wish is for the viewer to feel as though they are a part of the scene on film. Associations
and Memberships: -
The New England Large Format Photography Collective
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All images are for examination only. Images may not be reproduced copied, projected, or used in any way without the expressed written permission on LaBella Photographics' invoice stating the rights and terms granted on payment of said invoice.These rights shall transfer only upon full and complete payment of all charges noted on Labella Photographic's invoice(s). Any other use shall incur a fee of three times the normal rate for such usage. All violations shall be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. | ||
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R.J. Phil - All Images © David J. LaBella
. 339 Hunting Hill Ave., Apt. 303, Middletown, CT 06457 (860) 510-2270 . david@labellaphotographic.com |