The camera pans down from on high to a sunny, grassy field at a summer camp for Army Brats somewhere outside of Heidelberg, Germany. Its the mid-1970s and a group of middle schoolers are stuffing hands inside light proof black changing bags, trying to get plastic rolls of film to wind onto spools. Other kids are violently shaking small round containers of chemicals waiting for their images to emerge.
Fast forward to a high school darkroom, a lone teen is bent over trays, gently rocking chemicals over sheets of silver nitrate laden paper. A dim amber light illuminates his grinning faces at the image magically appears.
Fast forward to a college library in Boston. A student is in the photography section flipping through monographs of great photographers, a half-finished English paper waits patiently for his return.
Fast forward again, past the jobs, the publishing career, past the stay at home Dad moments to the present. Today Edward M. Fielding is enjoying his second career as a fine art photographer and visual artist. Quickly learning about digital photography after years of working with film of all kinds – from alternative processes to large format, Fielding enjoys creating works of art that range from straight forward classic photography to complicated composite pieces. We recently sat down with Fielding.
How would you describe your work?
I tend to experiment a lot and try different genres but I’d say the overall theme in my work is a simple straight forward composition. There typically isn’t a lot of clutter in my images. I deal with a single subject and bring out complexity with light and texture.
When I first started getting back into photography I did a lot of work for stock agencies, so I developed an eye towards clean compositions.
What do you consider your break out work?
I did a series of images with my Westie – Tiki that became very popular. Tiki was the inspiration for a series of funny photographs featuring not only him but some of his friends like Pete the Pug and Max the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
Many of the photos from this series appear in my popular book “the Quotable Westie” which is available on Amazon. “Wash Day” seen below is one of the most popular images from the series and has even appeared on the cover of a regional pet magazine.
What other subjects do you enjoy photographing?
Like a lot of photographers I’ll pull the car over for any old car or falling down barn. I live in a rural area on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont so there are lots of opportunities to capture the disappearing scenery of old barns and abandoned cars. Something about the nostalgia and the amazing textures of rusty metal and weathered wood is irresistible.
I also like creating still lifes in the studio. Its the closest thing to painting because you are arranging all of the elements in the shot by hand rather than finding a composition out in a landscape.
Where can your artwork be seen?
Mostly online although I have had a few shows around the New England area. Other places my work will show up is on the cover of novels or CDs. Recently I had this image licenced for the cover of a bestselling author David Baldacici’s Memory Man in the UK and the bird image appears on the new CD from the band Remembering January.
Where can your artwork be purchased?
My website – www.edwardfielding.com – has the major links to purchasing my work for wall art or for licensing. My preferred partner for wall art has been Fine Art America. They provide endless customization options and museum quality framing. For rights managed licensing my partner Arcangel images is great for licensing book cover art or cd artwork.