Jeremy
Barnard has been primarily a practitioner of black and white
photography for the past forty plus years. He is self-taught, his craft
having been molded and influenced by the photography and writings of
some of the great masters. “My love affair with photography began when I
developed my first roll of film and created my first print. I fell in
love with the process, the magic.” His passionate pursuit of technical
excellence has kept Jeremy involved in every step of the photographic
process. He retains control even into the presentation stage by doing
his own post processing, mounting, matting, and framing.
More than twenty-five years ago the computer made its appearance in
Jeremy's work environment. In the beginning he viewed it as an overly
complex typewriter. As it began to insert itself into the world of
photography it was easy to be skeptical about its photographic future,
since the early results of digital imaging were disappointing. Things,
as we now know, have changed radically in the digital world of
photography. Output quality has surpassed that of film. At this point it
has been over twenty years since Jeremy has shot a roll of film, and
he's not looking back.
Mr Barnard's approach to his work can best be described as an ongoing
process of self discovery. His photographs walk a fine line between
abstraction and realism. “My process of observation begins with a wide
view of my subject, seeing it in its environmental context. With the
knowledge that my image will lack impact if I don't get close enough, I
ask myself what it is about the scene that captivates me, and I move in
to isolate that element.” The resultant images possess the abstract
qualities of shape and form. Jeremy prefers natural to artificial light,
but has over the years learned to be comfortable in the studio. In his
artistic work he prefers to make images that do not contain people.
However, his images frequently contain evidence that people have been
there, adding an element of mystery. “I like to make pictures that ask
more questions than they answer.”
Artist/writer David Raymond wrote in Art New England that Barnard's
photographs “not only convey a sense of place, but a sense of time
transcending place,...his work is poetic in unexpected ways.”
