There is something very special about standing in a remote and unfamiliar environment during the dark hours. It is especially so to do so without the intrusion of artificially created light pollution. I think that I speak for many of us when I declare that we all need to expose ourselves to the elements of the night. I think it is important to do so without being “connected” via modern technology, IE cell phones and other distractions, that may take one’s awareness elsewhere during the experience. Of course one may argue that my having the camera, and my busyness with photographing brings that element of modernity into the mix. I assert that instead of a distraction, the camera allows me to focus my attention to the aesthetic possibilities, and that it promotes my awareness.
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About Thomas Bethune
THOMAS ALLEN BETHUNE
I have been interested in photography for most of my life. I started taking photographs with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera when I was eight years old. My early subjects were trains and engineered structures as well as landscapes and family portraits. My interests and vision have matured, but the subjects that catch my eye continue to be of the same genre as my earliest visions.
A neighbor man had a darkroom, and he showed me the basics of camera operation and darkroom processing. I took courses in art and photography in high school and college. I worked as an apprentice to a commercial wedding and event photographer, and I was in charge of a recreational dark room while I was in the military. As an adult, I earned a bachelor’s degree in photography from Humboldt State University. My experience with film formats included 35mm, 2 ¼”, and 4”x 5”. I exhibited at galleries near my home in Arcata California, and in Santa Fe New Mexico.
All my current work is digital. I am scanning many of my legacy negatives and slides. I sometimes process and print the scanned negatives. I often post them on my blog. I process all of my prints with archival media.
An award winning fine art photographer living in a redwood forest.
BA Photography
Director, Redwood Art Association, Eureka CA
Co-curator, F Street Foto Gallery, Eureka CA
Thomas Bethune's Photographic Journal 