David Brown is a photographer with 45+ years of experience in many phases of photography. He has been a wedding and commercial photographer, and a darkroom technician, and a teacher.
Currently, he is concentrating on teaching and lecturing. He has a recurring beginner darkroom workshop at the Dallas Center for Photography with plans developing for intermediate and advanced classes and workshops. Link
In one position in the 1980s, he maintained and periodically tested hundreds of cameras installed at high security locations, designed the in-house darkroom for the company; and processed, printed and archived tens of thousands of feet of film.
From 2006 – 2009, he worked with 4 other photographers on the Texas Church Project: a collaborative effort documenting historic church buildings using film and darkroom prints. In 2007, they appeared in a segment of the “Texas Country Reporter” TV show. View video on Youtube. (Link to the Historic Texas Churches photographs.)
In 2014, he produced a curated group show with 7 photographers showing black and white photographs, all originating on film or wet-plate and printed using traditional darkroom methods. (Link to SILVER page.)
Brown is equally skilled in both film and digital processes. While he prefers black and white film and the darkroom for monochrome images, all color work is created and printed with current digital methods.
A recent project has been the photo-documentation of significant pipe organs made by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, and designed and finished by Roy Perry, of Kilgore, Texas. In addition to the photographs being collected by the archives of the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival, the photographs have been exhibited and a book is available. (Link to the Historic pipe organs photographs.)
After a lifetime of landscapes, architectural and documentary work, David now seeks to create photographs that he first “sees” in his mind, rather than capturing a scene that he encounters and documents. As part of that process, David has moved into the studio, and is experimenting with still life, macro, and small abstract setups. He believes that one must never stop learning and moving forward!
Recent exhibitions have included:
- East Texas Pipe Organ Festival Archives, Kilgore, Texas, November 2014, March 2015, November 2015
- Jeanette Kennedy Gallery, Dallas, 2014
- Cathedral of Saint Matthew, Dallas, 2010
- Jeanette Kennedy Gallery, Dallas, 2009
- Texas Tech University School of Architecture, 2009 (with lecture presentation)
- Abilene Camera Club, 2008 (with lecture presentation)
- University of North Texas, 2007
Lectures, workshops, and publications:
- Trinity Arts Photo Club, Bedford, lecture, April 2017
- The Chautauqua Festival, Longview, lecture and slideshow, April 2017
- Dallas Center for Photography, Beginning Darkroom Workshop, November 2016, February 2017
- IN Magazine, Nov/Dec 2015
- An American Classic (book), October 2015