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Fred Drury
I started making images shortly after graduating from McGills
University in Montreal, Canada when I attended its World Fair, EXPO67.
My first SLR was an Olympus OM-1, which I used to document many of the
mining and construction operations I visited in my work providing
technical support to explosives users throughout North America. I
eventually switched to Nikon, starting out with an 8008, then an N90
and eventually an F5.
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| In the 80’s my wife and I both became SCUBA
certified and shortly thereafter I bought my first underwater camera, a
Nikonos V. Within a couple of years, underwater photography became my
passion. In the early 90’s, I was an early-adopter of the Nikonos RS
system … the first full-function 35mm SLR made for use underwater (not
in a housing). I used this system to photograph coral reefs and their
inhabitants in all of the world’s tropical seas. In the mid-90’s,
following the sale of my business, I was invited to join the senior
management team of the purchaser who was based in Oslo, Norway.
Traveling internationally to its operations, especially those in
southern Asia and Australia, provided lots of opportunities to dive and
photograph in exotic locations. I regularly shared my underwater images
at the annual conference of Our World Underwater, the major dive-expo
here in the US Midwest (i.e. Chicago). My work was recognized with
local, national and international awards, including a first prize in the
annual Papua New Guinea Photo Contest.
Following my retirement in 1998, I became a member of the faculty at
the College of DuPage, in Glen Ellyn, IL teaching underwater
photography. I also began to lecture on the subject of Color Management,
which I’d been very much forced into learning as I sought for quality
inkjet reproductions of my images. In those ‘early days’, inkjet prints
were certainly not noted for their archival properties, nor were the
printer manufacturers interested in the ‘photo print’ market. For
example, I found it pretty much impossible to find anyone at Epson who
would admit to knowing anything about a printer profile.
My teaching activities have expanded. In addition to underwater
photography, I now instruct advanced Photoshop. I also teach a variety
of Photoshop and Digital classes at The Morton Arboretum. I am a regular
presenter at regional ‘Camera Club Council’ events in Michigan (SWMCCC)
and Massachusetts (NECCC). At the PSA conference this year, I conducted
a Photoshop seminar and presented a program entitled ‘Profiling Digital
Projectors for International Competitions’.
My images, both underwater and surface, are in galleries here in the
Chicago area as well as in Door County, Wisconsin. The Shedd Aquarium
has used more than 30 of my images in the ‘Wild Reef’ exhibit. I do all
of my own printing on an Epson 7600. ‘Markland Imaging’, my studio
operation, prints editions for area artists and provides additional
services including slides, cards, matting and framing. I have just added
one of the new Canon iPF5000 printers and I’m looking forward to seeing
how it performs. My current computer is a Dell Precision 670 workstation
(PC).
Over the past five years I have gradually transitioned from film to
digital. I began using a D100 and housing for my underwater macro work
in 2003 and found the experience ‘liberating’. Being able to check a
histogram and know that I’d ‘nailed’ the underwater exposure was a great
relief compared to the bracketing necessary with film. Liberating too
was no longer being constrained by the 36 exposure limitation of film.
The results were a very pleasant surprise … I found I consistently was
able to achieve better images with digital than had ever been possible
with film … images were just plain sharper!
This spring I made the big switch from Nikon to Canon for my above
water work. I sold my underwater RS equipment and invested in a Canon
1DS Mkll, and I’ve been most happy with the results. Lately, I’ve been
making a lot of HDR images and I’m excited about how this method helps
me obtain increased shadow detail.
Having been a practicing engineer for more than 40 years, I’m very
much enjoying creating new challenges for the right side of my brain. I
look forward to sharing my images and my thoughts on image-making with
the group.
'You can view my images at our Markland website at
www.marklandimaging.com'
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