About the photographer - Brent L. Ander

About the Photographer Brent L. Ander

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About THE PRINTS

The photographic images available on this site are digitally mastered and printed on high quality paper. These photos are obtainable for stock use, the prices will vary according to the intended application. (See License Agreement)

All photographic prints are printed and framed on demand by Fine Art America.

About BRENT L. ANDER

For over fifty years I have wandered the world with a camera close at hand, always searching for that "just right" moment to capture. Naturally, this WEB site only reflects a miniscule portion of the images I have collected in a lifetime of the visual hunt. As time progresses, there will be a great many more.

My formal education is in Fine Arts and I originally began taking photographs more as a convenient sketchbook for potential artwork studies than for finished photographic art. To this day I find it an invaluable tool in the study of light and its interaction with nature. The art of seeing requires in-depth scrutiny before understanding is obtainable; and understanding is a prerequisite for anyone attempting to master the visual arts. I am and always will be a perpetual student.

I first attempted to seriously learn the techniques behind the photographic process by joining the U.S. Air Force. At the time, they were reputed to be one of the better sources of education in photography. The recruiter swore I would be sent to color processing school right out of basic training. . . unfortunately the military had other ideas. Because I'm a big guy, some unknown sergeant in a back room figured I was better suited to be an Air Policeman, and after all, there was a war going on. With little preamble, they handed me a gun and a badge instead of a camera and film. Thus I was forced to begin the learning process on my own. While policing Viet Nam, I studied the camera and spent much of my spare time in the darkroom learning the interactions of chemicals with film and emulsion paper.

Once I hung up my badge and gun for the last time and stored my green duffle in a closet as future mold real estate, I established my first commercial photography studio in Jacksonville Florida (1970). For some unfathomable reason, I found shooting a camera far more rewarding than shooting a gun.

Like many artists I have known, I was forced to make a living outside of the arts. . . I like to eat, it's an old habit. Along the way, and among many miscellaneous jobs, I ended up in the computer and aerospace industry. Go figure. . . an Artist/Engineer. Engineering paid better wages.

As fortune would have it, I worked on some mighty interesting projects, mostly for the space program, and in the late 1980s had the opportunity to work with a pre-release Beta copy of Adobe Photoshop. Within two years, I sold my darkroom and never looked back. With the computer I was able to accomplish tasks in minutes that would take hours in the dark using the "braille" method of chemical manipulation. With the advent of the digital camera, my photographic work has simply expanded. I now blend digital imagery with traditional film using the computer as a pallet to enhance and manipulate an image to achieve a desired effect.

Images curtesy of NASA

In the 1990s, I returned to art and photography while making a living in commercial photography and graphics. Throughout my life, I have exhibited my fine artwork in shows, galleries, museums and publications, yet have never displayed my nature study photographs anywhere –– until now.

Today, I live along the coast of Maine near Acadia National Park; an artist's wonderland, where I can often be found wandering the coastline with a camera and tripod. I hope you enjoy your visit to the gallery. It's still growing, so please come back again sometime soon.

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