Sitting down on Thanksgiving and waiting for the family to arrive, I started to think about a day several months ago, when I visited Curt Rowell in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, about an hour or so from where I live. Curt had signed up to attend Monalogfest earlier in the year. When we had to cancel the event due to some unforeseen circumstances Curt and I agreed that we would get together at his place. One of the reasons I wanted to go, beyond that it was nearby a county fair I wanted to photograph was that Curt told me he was converting his newly purchased home into a living and working spaced dedicated completely to fine art photography. This I had to see! The only other residence I have ever seen like this is owned by Monalog member, fine are photographer and printer extraordinaire, David Haas, who lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Curt has had an interesting life to say the least. After a long career in photography, notably as a professional printer for top photographers in New York he became heavily involved in environmental issues and moved to the Easton, Pennsylvania, where he assumed management of the Easton Urban Farm. Now retired, his life is fully dedicated to his large format black and white … and yes … color dye transfer photography. No matter to me, his work is amazing!
While the house was still a work in progress when I visited, it was exciting to see and hear from Curt what his plans were. A wonderful dark room outfitted with 4 X 5 and 8 X 10 enlargers, a fully outfitted work room for mounting and matting prints, several studio areas and the pièce de resistance … an in-home gallery to show his work!! Damn!
So, here is a person who lives a photographic life to the nth degree! So does David Haas. When David walks out of his bedroom, he just strolls into his very large and incredibly equipped darkroom! David earns his living from that darkroom, sales of his prints and his teaching of photography at Moravian College. His avocation is his vocation … lucky man indeed! As best I can tell, Curt is pretty much “retired”. He just happens to be obsessed with his photography.
Can most people live in homes completely dedicated to their obsession and craft? Not likely. But we can look at Curt and David and be inspired by their dedication to what they love so much and apply it to our own lives and work. That’s my takeaway and it contributes to what I aspire to in my photographic life. To have such a photographic life is a special thing to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day!
Stay well and best wishes to you and yours,
Michael