Brian DeWolf
Brian DeWolf lives in Batavia, IL. He began taking pictures after graduating from college in 1971. He did some portrait photography, but after having success in photographic competition with his landscapes, he devoted his efforts to it and refined his trademark style.
Brian grew up in Wheaton, IL. He attended McKendree University in Lebanon, IL and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He sold hardware and related products as a manufacturer’s representative for his father's business in the 1970's and was a policeman in St. Charles, IL from 1979 until his retirement as a sergeant in May of 2000.
Aside from the Kodak Brownie he used as a boy, his serious attempts to be a photographic artist were with a relic Mamiya 35mm camera and two lenses in the 1970’s. As time permitted, he photographed on sales trips around the Midwest. Before retiring from law enforcement he built a darkroom and shot with a medium format Hasselblad system. Eventually, high resolution film scans imported into Photoshop replaced the wet darkroom. Now his shooting and processing is all done digitally.
Brian is a member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA). His image “Foggy Morning Ride” was accepted into the PPA Loan Collection for 2002. Marathon Press, publisher of the Loan Collection, describes the collection as “the best of the best” from over 8,000 entries. “Foggy Morning Ride” was featured as the introduction to a special advertising section for Geneva, IL in Chicago Magazine June 2003. It also won the Denise Kavanagh award at the St. Charles Fine Art Show 2003. In 2008, he was awarded the Bronze Level Photographer of the Year award when four out of four entries merited in PPA’s international print competition. Thirteen of Brian’s images have “merited” in these international print competitions since 2002.
In 2006, about 80 of his images were chosen for “A Toast to the 14 Congressional District” event and fundraiser for Speaker of the House, United States Congressman Dennis Hastert. The featured guest speaker was the late Whitehouse Press Secretary Tony Snow.
In 2007 representatives of the Geneva, IL International Cultural Exchange
Committee and Croissy sans Frontieres in Croissy sur Seine, France invited DeWolf to photograph Croissy as a step in developing an artist exchange program between the two cities. Croissy and surrounding villages along the Seine River are called “the playground of the French impressionists”. It resulted in a 2009 solo exhibit in France that was attended by a member of the French Parliament, a French Senator, three local mayors, and the family of a former French Ambassador.
He offers a Collector Series that are “investment-grade” prints. Images are printed with inks and papers that have been independently tested for stability and longevity. His work is displayed, and sold, at Proud Fox Gallery in Geneva, IL
Brian grew up in Wheaton, IL. He attended McKendree University in Lebanon, IL and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He sold hardware and related products as a manufacturer’s representative for his father's business in the 1970's and was a policeman in St. Charles, IL from 1979 until his retirement as a sergeant in May of 2000.
Aside from the Kodak Brownie he used as a boy, his serious attempts to be a photographic artist were with a relic Mamiya 35mm camera and two lenses in the 1970’s. As time permitted, he photographed on sales trips around the Midwest. Before retiring from law enforcement he built a darkroom and shot with a medium format Hasselblad system. Eventually, high resolution film scans imported into Photoshop replaced the wet darkroom. Now his shooting and processing is all done digitally.
Brian is a member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA). His image “Foggy Morning Ride” was accepted into the PPA Loan Collection for 2002. Marathon Press, publisher of the Loan Collection, describes the collection as “the best of the best” from over 8,000 entries. “Foggy Morning Ride” was featured as the introduction to a special advertising section for Geneva, IL in Chicago Magazine June 2003. It also won the Denise Kavanagh award at the St. Charles Fine Art Show 2003. In 2008, he was awarded the Bronze Level Photographer of the Year award when four out of four entries merited in PPA’s international print competition. Thirteen of Brian’s images have “merited” in these international print competitions since 2002.
In 2006, about 80 of his images were chosen for “A Toast to the 14 Congressional District” event and fundraiser for Speaker of the House, United States Congressman Dennis Hastert. The featured guest speaker was the late Whitehouse Press Secretary Tony Snow.
In 2007 representatives of the Geneva, IL International Cultural Exchange
Committee and Croissy sans Frontieres in Croissy sur Seine, France invited DeWolf to photograph Croissy as a step in developing an artist exchange program between the two cities. Croissy and surrounding villages along the Seine River are called “the playground of the French impressionists”. It resulted in a 2009 solo exhibit in France that was attended by a member of the French Parliament, a French Senator, three local mayors, and the family of a former French Ambassador.
He offers a Collector Series that are “investment-grade” prints. Images are printed with inks and papers that have been independently tested for stability and longevity. His work is displayed, and sold, at Proud Fox Gallery in Geneva, IL
Artist Statement
"My photography began as an exercise to produce artistic images from the places that were most familiar to me. People no longer see the luster on what has become dull from familiarity. I learned that we need not travel far to find light falling seductively upon an object. Photography is a process of selecting, isolating, and enhancing a subject by finding that favorable light and then using techniques to enhance the most striking elements. It’s an exercise that can be done everywhere.”
"Our minds unwittingly interpret and isolate parts of a scene that get our attention and ignore others. The camera doesn’t interpret. That is one reason why the resulting print can disappoint us. A disappointing picture often tells us we should have noticed clutter in the scene and taken steps to omit them. Or maybe the lighting should have been better.”
“Just as one’s attention can be focused upon good, bad, or indifference, the camera can be focused on those aspects of life as well. I choose to focus my lens on that which is good in nature, good in mankind, thoughtful, and peaceful,. My work is not photo-journalistic. It will not to add to the evidence of man’s strife.”
"I don’t like to shoot spontaneously. I enjoy examining details of a scene. When something begs attention, instinct tells me to look at it more carefully. I evaluate the lighting, search the viewfinder for distracting objects, and look for the most favorable angle. Landscape photography sounds inherently relaxed, but even scenes that seem static are in flux and one must press the shutter release lest they get away.”
"A camera creates an historical document. Granted, not all history is visually interesting. My goal is to artistically document the historical aspect of common life and the good in life. I want viewers to feel they are looking at a moment that was spared from its destiny as an unrecorded memory, and to do it in a way that is pleasing to look at. I also want the scene to produce an emotional response in others like it did for me.”
"Our minds unwittingly interpret and isolate parts of a scene that get our attention and ignore others. The camera doesn’t interpret. That is one reason why the resulting print can disappoint us. A disappointing picture often tells us we should have noticed clutter in the scene and taken steps to omit them. Or maybe the lighting should have been better.”
“Just as one’s attention can be focused upon good, bad, or indifference, the camera can be focused on those aspects of life as well. I choose to focus my lens on that which is good in nature, good in mankind, thoughtful, and peaceful,. My work is not photo-journalistic. It will not to add to the evidence of man’s strife.”
"I don’t like to shoot spontaneously. I enjoy examining details of a scene. When something begs attention, instinct tells me to look at it more carefully. I evaluate the lighting, search the viewfinder for distracting objects, and look for the most favorable angle. Landscape photography sounds inherently relaxed, but even scenes that seem static are in flux and one must press the shutter release lest they get away.”
"A camera creates an historical document. Granted, not all history is visually interesting. My goal is to artistically document the historical aspect of common life and the good in life. I want viewers to feel they are looking at a moment that was spared from its destiny as an unrecorded memory, and to do it in a way that is pleasing to look at. I also want the scene to produce an emotional response in others like it did for me.”