This week’s featured artist: Dick Schneier, member since 1999:
ME: I was born in the Bronx. I lived in Westchester County, Greenwich, CT, near Boston, MA, and the last 47 years in Derwood, MD with my wife and tripod carrier Ann. I trained and worked as an engineer, mostly in Underwater Acoustic research and applications. I retired from Tracor Inc. at the end of 1998.
Blue Mood
MY ART: My lifelong interest in Photography started when I discovered square black Kodak boxes in my Grandmother’s hall closet. Eventually I bought my first “real” camera in the 50’s – a Kodak Pony 35mm camera – and gradually progressed to more sophisticated and larger format cameras. I even attempted to process my own negatives and make enlargements with a very basic FR enlarger, for which I believe I paid the princely sum of $30. Upon retirement, I discovered that I really didn’t know much about what I was doing, so I signed up for a series of courses at the Smithsonian Institute to unlearn my errors and re-learn the art. Not only did I learn the mechanics of producing acceptable negatives and prints, I was exposed, for the first time to photography as a true art form through lectures on the art of Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, and others. Cartier-Bresson has especially inspired much of the work I enjoy the most, in capturing the moment, which is basically what photography is if you go back to its roots of Daguerre and Fox-Talbot. So, as with the other visual arts, my photography is intended to capture what I see, not necessarily as literal presentation, but to share and present what I saw, influenced by my feelings at the time of capture. My current work leans toward digital capture, however I still maintain my film skills with formats from 35mm though 4×5, and participation in a fine print series at the Smithsonian darkroom.
MFA & ME: Becoming a member of the MFA almost 15 years ago was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I won recognition for my work rather quickly, and I was invited to become a member of the Exhibitions Committee, from which I have gained tremendous appreciation and love of all the visual art forms.
Spread the word about…YOU: Every week, we feature an MFA member for “Me & My Art Monday.” If you would like to be featured, please submit a photo and three paragraphs: one each about YOU, YOUR ART, and MFA & YOU totaling approximately 350 words, to meandmyart@mdfedart.org.
