At the Firehouse Art Gallery: Jeremy Barnard

Jeremy Barnard

December 28, 2011 - January 29, 2012
Reception: Sat, January 7; 3-5pm

Jeremy Barnard was initially skeptical when computers began making their foray into the art world. As a long-time photographer, forty years long, who spent many hours in the dark room as a “wet lab” practitioner, he didn’t see how digital technology would be able to maintain the same standards of quality that had become a hallmark of his photographs. It has now been ten years since he has shot a roll of Tri-X film and he has never been happier with his work! Going a step or two further, the last year or so has found him experimenting with a process known as digital infrared. Using a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera that has been converted to capture the infrared spectrum only, his results are such that at first glance a viewer might be inclined to think these are snow-covered scenes.

Infrared imaging, which has military applications that include night-vision and target acquisition, has an eerie effect on black and white photos. The heightened contrast seems to create an aura around the scene. Leaves can become plume-like on silvered branches and tree trunks. A boarded-up, abandoned building looks like it is meticulously hand-drawn thanks to the hyperrealism. It is as if this technique is an X-ray peering into the innermost life of Mother Nature that is allowing us to see more than we would with our naked eye.

The resulting photographs serve to pull us, the viewers, into the magical, mystical worlds that Barnard has created for us. Stepping into those worlds is easy. What is more difficult is returning to the real world. Come and have a look (or two or three) at the fascinating photos by Jeremy Barnard that will hang in the Firehouse Gallery December 28, 2011 - January 29, 2012.

"...[Barnard's photographs] not only convey a sense of place, but a sense of time transcending place,...his work is poetic in unexpected ways.”

David Raymond, Art New England

About the Artist: Jeremy Barnard has been primarily a practitioner of black and white photography for the past forty plus years. He is self-taught, his craft having been molded and influenced by the photography and writings of some of the great masters. “My love affair with photography began when I developed my first roll of film and created my first print. I fell in love with the process, the magic.” His passionate pursuit of technical excellence has kept Jeremy involved in every step of the photographic process. He retains control even into the presentation stage by doing his own spotting, mounting, matting, and framing.

Although initially skeptical of the computer's place in photography, advancements in the digital world and their profound impact on quality have made Jeremy a true believer; and it has now been over ten years since he has shot a role of film.

Artist's Statement: I spent thirty years as a wet lab practitioner. Sometime in the mid eighties the materials i had come to rely on became hard to find, and, as time passed, some were discontinued. Digital imaging was in its infancy, and the early results were really quite awful. I felt forced by circumstance, however, to hang my hopes on the new medium. The transition was not easy, but, as we now know, digital imaging technology improved incredibly rapidly. My darkroom is now dry, and the magic, to me, seems even more remarkable.

It’s the better part of ten years since i loaded, shot, processed, and printed a roll of Tri-X. After thirty years of practice with that process, the tools had become precision tools, and pre-visualization had become a functional reality. Such was not the case with the Kodak HIE infrared film, at least not for me. Even with endless bracketing, and my usual obsessive attention to detail, i was lucky if one roll of twenty exposures yielded a single workable image that i would be proud to hang on a wall. The grain characteristics of the film never seemed to fit my intent, and i hated having to handle it in absolute darkness. But i continued to be captivated by what i thought i might be able to do with it.

Fast forward a decade or so, and you’ll find me with a digital SLR in my hands that has been converted for infrared-only capture. I’ve been working with it for about a year, and all those nasty memories of struggling with the film are rapidly fading. ISO is flexible, of course, and a good, workable number is nowhere near the pitifully low number that it was in the world of film. Grain is not the challenge that it was; the images are quite sharp. Endless bracketing is no longer necessary since i can see the image post capture on the LCD and examine its technical characteristics on location using tools like the histogram and others. Apart from all the tech reasons for enjoying this new medium, i just love the look. It’s been said that my photographic life is largely about rocks and trees, and that is true. Now, however, i think we’ll have to add chlorophyll to the list, since without it there’s no ice storm on a warm summer day, and no bright white where middle gray normally resides.

The ten pieces i have submitted comprise the first portfolio of digital infrared images from the past year’s work.

jeremy barnard

This exhibit by Jeremy Barnard is produced by the Firehouse. You may view this work during regular Box Office hours: Wed - Sun, 12N-5P, or until curtain.

Visit the artist's web site here.