about me
carl svec
My infatuation with photography and the image began long before I knew any better. Consistently the world around me seemed more palatable, more suitable through the eye of my lens. Through photography, I found that I could isolate, edit,and somehow possess what I found meaningful.
My fascination with photographing people took root a bit later. Since the human being is rendered in the image and likeness of our creator, it seemed like a formidable challenge to endeavor to find his hand in the folks he crafted; perhaps in the gleam of an eye, the contours of a face, the grace of a smile, the expressiveness of a frown, or the attitude projected in a stance.
I strive to keep my canvass real and maintain the simple elegance of the unadulterated image. There is an abundance of scrubbed, manipulated, fantasy images in our world and with these I do not wish to compete. My goal is to always convey the uncontested, unapologetic reality of my subjects. These images are designed to connect with the part of us that understands what and who people really are; the part of us that is looking for the genuine depiction of the person; the essence that we openly recognize as us.
My realm:
environmental portraiture
personal promotion
haedshots
portfolio updates
developing
My beginnings in photography start with my father. He had a reflex camera that I studied until my brain hurt. There was no automation, but all the mechanicals were in place. The camera grew into my hand like a tree around a guide wire. I was fascinated. I was hooked.
I went on to study at the Cleveland School of Photography which was housed in a ramshackle, despicable old building on E 9th St. that no one could possibly confuse with a fashionable institution. It reeked of the perfume of photo-chemicals, old mildew and lead-based paint. However, what it lacked in stature it made up for with people; a family that was genuinely interested in photography and its proliferation. In this rubble beat a heart for the art and the student.
My next stop was the National Camera School in Englewood, Colorado. Here I encountered a gaggle of people with whom I immediately connected. These people were interested in the mechanics, the gears and leavers of photography. Quite a bit of my time here was spent in the dark. The photo chemicals, the orange glow and the piercing darkness would shape my very being for years to come. This place is best described as a photo-technical asylum with unlocked doors. It was fantastic. I was gobsmacked.
I was home.