Todd Stone is well known for his art in both urban and rural settings, including the destruction and later rebuilding of the World Trade Centers as well as scenes in and along along the Delaware River and Gallows Run, a high quality stream in northern Bucks County, PA.

Todd is also committed to raising awareness of the degradation of our environment and actively works to seek solutions to problems, especially in and around the Gallows Run watershed.

Many of his recent works are of the stream from midstream perspective (i.e., seeing the stream not from the banks but from right in the middle) so it was only natural for me to want to photograph Todd where he is most comfortable.  And of course, to photograph midstream, you gotta get midstream, too.

Todd photographing me photographing him (and me trying to keep my high voltage battery and flash unit out of the water….)

Ron Brown: Mathematician, Software Engineer, Teacher, Artist

Ron questions whether his artwork is really art or not.  But there is no question that it is.

Ron uses computer code to make calculations and plot graphic images.  The “Knight’s Tour” is an example. Imagine a chess knight on an 8×8 grid.  The computer can plot it’s moves graphically so that it lands on each square of the grid only once.  This creates a number pattern that Ron further analyzes and discovers unexpected and intricate symmetries and patterns which he then uses to create 3-D sculptures by hand.

I photographed Ron as part of my Artists of the Gallows Run portrait project.  I did not entirely understand Ron’s work before our session but his patient and thorough explanation made it come alive for me and his pieces took on a whole new meaning.

Yes Ron, your work is Art.

Working with iron is one of man’s oldest arts.  Coming in there right after the bronze age, somewhere around 1200 BC.  And in some ways it hasn’t changed much.  Heat it up and pound it into shape.

Steve Sears has been heating and pounding iron nearly his whole adult life creating everything from intricate scultures and iron rope to wrought iron railings.  He works out of his studio in rural Upper Bucks County, PA called Sears Iron Works.

I photographed Steve in his studio as part of a project called “Artists of the Run.”  Each year a group of highly talented artist in upper Bucks County create and donate works to be shown and sold in support of an environmental organization, The Gallows Run Watershed Association.  It has been great photographing the artists.  Shooting in Steve’s studio was especially rewarding.  Nice light, excellent setting and a wonderful, gracious host.  I just had to be carefull not to get burned.