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Photography, Recent work of Dudley Danielson


“It is as clear in my mind as this morning's newspaper headline: I had just turned ten and for my birthday that year, April 15, 1945, I had saved up $9.95 and bought myself a Brownie Reflex Camera. Ever since I have viewed the world--sometimes in panorama, but more often than not--focused on little squares and rectangles.

Bouys winter storage

Photo by Dudley Danielson ©

And how do I describe over six decades thru my lens. Oh, could I tell stories! Some say a photographer is a voyeur who does not participate in life. For me, on the contrary, every picture I take is one I want to share with others; I want them to feel what I feel. In that I am most transparent, and very much a participant in this adventure on Planet Earth.

 

 

Sky, Danielson

Photo by Dudley Danielson ©

My boyhood dream was to work for National Geographic or Life. I never saw that reality but I did work for a day with Life magazine photographer as he burned up over 800 images (that is a lot of film before digital). I was mugged in Paris by an Algerian artist who thought I had captured his soul on film. For CBS news I filmed the space capsule recovery efforts off Hawaii. Almost drowned on one assignment. ‘ Been quite a ride.

Mist

Photo by Dudley Danielson ©

Eventually I settled into life as a small town photographer determined to be the best frog in a little pond. A thousand weddings later and 25,000 school children portrayed plus everything else one must do as a General Practitioner of Photography, I was able to turn the name “Dudley” into a household word for creative imagery. Since then I’ve seen others equal and surpass. I give them applause as we all preserve a moment then share it with others.

Rain, Danielson Window pane, Danielson Photo by Dudley Danielson ©

Photo by Dudley Danielson ©

Probably the worst period of my life was after a nervous breakdown from severe overwork in the 70s. For two whole years I could not “see” a picture to save my soul. The loneliness of “not seeing” was a horrible place in which to live. I recall a day as I was coming out from under that black cloud, when I lay down beneath some fresh Springtime tulips just to “see” what the world looked like from that close to the earth. I had returned to the joy of living, the ecstasy of capturing the moment.

Church spire

Photo by Dudley Danielson ©

Someone once said that my camera is so close to my heart that when I am laid out in that long box, I shall raise the lid and click the shutter just so I can share with them some joy in that forlorn event.”

Tulip, Danielson Photo by Dudley Danielson ©

Dudley Danielson

Dudley Danielson Bird, Danielson Photo by Dudley Danielson ©

Posted in: Photography, People
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Comments

Bill Munger
Comment by: Bill Munger ( )
Left at: 7:51 PM Monday, June 14, 2010
Your commentary as well as your images are filled with the depth of your passion. At 60 I long to recapture the joy of the pursuits I left behind in my youth. Photography was once where I thought I would travel but it became crowded out for "stuff" of life. Articles like this ignite the flame once more. Thank you.