About the Artist

About the Artist: Paul Biederman

I was introduced to nature and cameras when I was in the Cub Scouts. My mother was the den leader and taught me how to capture the image of a leaf on photographic paper, develop the print and then paint it using special dyes with a cotton tip. I took my first selfie with a Kodak box camera when I was ten (1955), developed the film and made a print. It was adventurous considering how I blocked the light in the bathroom with towels and had to time my processing between family members trips to the bathroom! In 1970 I purchased a Nikomat with a close-up (macro) lens to document oral pathology. I also discovered a love for nature and landscapes. In 1971, I made a real darkroom under the basement staircase in a wet basement in Buffalo. There I would process my film with my winter jacket on. Once I produced a 3x4 foot image of a church with 12 prints, flipping negatives, tilting the paper, blending and dodging and burning the image way before Photoshop. It would take me all night to do what I can now do on the computer in minutes, although many of my present pieces take numerous sessions and countless hours. With the advent and evolution of the digital camera and post-processing techniques, I am able to be creative in a timely fashion without stinky, messy, caustic chemicals.

Life can take unexpected turns. After two automobile accidents, I was no longer able to practice my chosen profession of pediatric dentistry, and was unable to participate in endurance sports, which had long been a dominant part of my life. My therapist suggested that I pursue my passion for photography. And so I did

A camera is an instrument. You can make oodles of adjustments but there is no adjustment for feelings. My challenge: How do I convey the feelings that I have into my camera and a print? I have learned to visualize the print I want while I am taking the image. What comes out of the camera approximates that visualization. My post-processing and printing are the additional elements that further convey the feeling. The main element of a print is the emotional connection to the image.

Presently, my work revolves around nature, both landscapes and macrophotography. I love to wander the ocean sands, woods, gardens and lake shores. What I found really great about macrophotography is that it is almost everywhere, I love to experience nature close-up, its as if I am putting a microscope to the world. The light from the sky, which is the essential element of visualization of nature, is constantly changing. It gives new dimension, mood and meaning to that which it illuminates. Those physical changes also affect what I see and my mood and feelings. This there is a kinetic energy in the light I see. This is why I named my web site FOTOKINETICS.

Professionally I have achieved Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), Fellow from the Marland Professional Photographers (MDPPA), and am a member of the ASP (American Society of Photographers). I teach workshops on Macrophotography, Lightroom and Photoshop, Nature and Landscape photography. I also mentor, coach and provide individual tutoring.

Contact me at: paul_biederman_photography@verizon.net