David McCrae About Us	Back | Home
Biography

I began photographing with a Kodak Brownie and started learning the process of photography from my grandparents in Colorado, both dedicated amateur photographers and naturalists. Process was left behind for theory while studying art history at the University of California, San Diego, although chemistry and the beach kept interfering.

While in graduate school, my muse, Suzanne, and I built a darkroom in a closet so we could work together creatively on photography despite pursuing our individual fields of study. In 1979 we met Dan Fear, owner of the Silver Image Gallery in Seattle, one of the earliest U.S. photography galleries. Through Dan we were introduced to a wonderful assortment of artists. Inspired, we attended workshops and worked on our photography seriously through the ‘80s. Careers slowed efforts to a minimum in the ‘90s.

With the arrival of the digital darkroom at our Berkeley home in 2000, I began working under the tutelage of Jules Spilman, a painter and sculptor trained at the Chicago Art Institute. He offered me my first show in 2004 at his Gallery and Salon, and so a new phase began

The History of photography is replete with examples of image capture without a camera. My present focus, ‘From a Scanner, Darkly,’ began when I had no time to work with film. Instead, a scanner and a computer became my substitute for photosensitive materials and a darkroom. This current series of images, ‘Unpacking:,’ started when we relocated for Berkeley to Seattle. While unwrapping newsprint from the dishes, I noticed intriguing shapes and shadows. These images are the result of that observation.

I now use both analog and digital image capture, with, and without camera and lens. Images are printed digitally with pigment inks on archival paper.

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Juried Competitions

Estes Park Art Center; Lines into Shapes  Photography for 'Bamboo 2009' First Place	November 2010
J. Rankin Jewelers, Edmonds WA	October/November 2010
Northwest Fine Arts Competition	October 2010
Anacortes Art at the Port Juried Art Exhibition	August 2010
Edmonds Art Walk	June 2010
Sequim Arts 34th Annual Juried Art Show             Best of Show for Unpacking: Portrait #8	May 2010
Monroe Arts Council Arty Gras  Best of Show – Photography 'Clematis 'Henry' 2005	February 2009
Monroe Arts Council Arty Gras   Best of Show – Photography	February 2008

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Exhibitions

J. Rankin Jewelers, Edmonds WA	October/November 2010
Amy Wells, Seattle WA	April 2010
Art Merchant Int’l, Monroe WA	October 2008
Art Merchant Int’l, Monroe WA	October 2007
Hermosa Salon and Gallery, Oakland CA	June 2007
Spilman’s Collectibles’ Art Gallery, Berkeley CA	April 2007
Spilman’s Collectibles’ Art Gallery, Berkeley CA	June 2006
Britt-Marie’s, Albany CA	December 2005
Spilman’s Collectibles’ Art Gallery, Berkeley CA	August 2005
Yves Delorme, Bellevue WA	July 2006
Rendez-vous, Albany CA	July 2005
Spilman’s Collectibles’ Art Gallery, Berkeley CA	January 2005
Spilman’s Collectibles’ Art Gallery, Berkeley CA	June 2004

                      

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Private Collections

Wellington FL

Alamo CA

San Francisco CA

Jacksonville OR

Toronto Canada

Representation

Art Merchant International, Monroe WA

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Image Capture and Printing

Images are captured with both analog and digital techniques. Analog capture is generally done with a 4 x 5 inch view camera and Polaroid Type 55 film. The Polaroid negative is then scanned with an Epson flat-bed scanner. Digital capture is performed with an Epson flat-bed scanner.

The captured images are treated to the digital equivalent of traditional darkroom manipulations; cropping, contrast adjustment, color balance, and burning & dodging. The final digital file is printed with Epson printers and Epson pigment inks on Hahnemuhle papers.

Price List

5 x 7 cards	1-9 $5.00 ea.	10+ $4.00 ea.
Prints
size	matted print	framed
8 x 10	$150	$200
11 x 14	$300	$350
16 x 20	$450	$500
20 x 24	$750	on request

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