This is the introduction of my photographic venture. It is called Morse Brother’s Studios.
My name is Doug Morse and the inspiration for this venture into photography is two-fold. First I have always possessed or been possessed by a creative urge. A part of this urge is expressed in work that is based in the past. This is further motivated as far as I can understand in differing parts by, a desire for purity, wanting to experience the past, a belief that there is a craft required to manifest the creative impulse. This craft involves mastering techniques and honing a discipline.
Around 2008 is when I took up the standard to run with it. On a holiday in South Africa I decided to dust off my grandfather’s old Nikon F and put some film in it and got maybe a half dozen decent photos. I had also inherited a lot of my brother’s old negatives. They sat in a box for years as it was too painful to look at them; so freighted with memory were they.
Around this time it was finally time to do something. I scanned them and with some encouragement from our father, I started to make a Blurb book of his best work (available in the sidebar on the home page). It was at least 6 months of hard work in the evenings. I finished the book and was very pleased. I gave out a number of copies to friends and family. This helped me develop a hybrid film digital methodology. It also brought back many memories of my brother and these thoughts led me to purchase my first medium format film camera.
I then set about learning to meter, compose and expose images. I am living in the UK and took photos near where I lived and where I went on holiday. Slowly I found my abilities improved. First fewer basic mistakes and finally... some good photos (pleasing to me at least.). Some encouraging comments from others too. I expanded the range of equipment but always medium format and one large format camera I bought ‘accidentally’. I built up a cheap darkroom setup and re-introduced myself to black and white printing, dabbled in alternative processes; different experiments I documented on my personal blog.
I have been labeling my work under the Morse Brother’s Studio name for a few years now. It is as I have said a long winded homage to my brother but also because I print and publish his work as well. I purposely chose the plural ‘studios’ to reflect both his and mine. His is more in-my-mind than a physical location. And I have chosen the UK and Arizona as physical locations to reflect the reality of my current residence and my brother’s past in Arizona. My roots too are in Arizona so that makes it even more appropriate. The studio as a concept is where I will explore my photographic impulses and also develop and honor my brother’s work as well.
My name is Doug Morse and the inspiration for this venture into photography is two-fold. First I have always possessed or been possessed by a creative urge. A part of this urge is expressed in work that is based in the past. This is further motivated as far as I can understand in differing parts by, a desire for purity, wanting to experience the past, a belief that there is a craft required to manifest the creative impulse. This craft involves mastering techniques and honing a discipline.
The Roots of My Photography
Secondly I have a brother who, while alive, I was very close to. Without getting too mawkish he was my best friend and I expected him to be a lifelong companion. Sadly this ended some 25 years ago when he died of cancer. During his short life he set about mastering photography. He in turn came to this from our Grandfather. Our Grandfather was an avid photographer and tried and sometimes did make a living from it. He mastered most of the techniques. His last job was selling cameras which he was, I suspect, very good at because of his personal interest and his amazing ability to teach. He died before my brother did and I to this day regret not asking and learning more from him. However I was a long way then from where I am now.A Small Biography
Turning back to my brother; we grew up for most of childhood in Flagstaff in Northern Arizona. A town of 40,000 people it was small but nestled in some of the prettiest country you could wish for. At 7,000 feet it was in the middle of a Ponderosa pine forest with mountains, lakes, Indian ruins, native Americans, and access to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley among other places. We lived on the edge of town and I would spend most of our childhood in the woods and camping and fishing with my family. After high school my brother took his nascent interest in photography to work in a local camera store. This allowed his interest to develop and he met some professional photographers such as John Running and Sue Bennett. He carried a camera a lot and worked with 35mm with an Olympus OM1, medium format Hasselblad, and large format Wista 4x5. He took a number of very good photos and even tried to make it in the commercial photography world. Being a small town there was not much work but still he did some advertising work. He was intensely active in outdoor sports and hobbies and combined this with his photography. At one point he was asked to save a failing color lab in town which he took to with relish. This gave him deeper exposure and he managed to get the enterprise from massive losses to breakeven before the investors pulled the plug.My Story of Photography
When digital cameras first started appearing I thought I might have a go at photography again as it looked easier. I took a lot of photos but they were not good and much of what I did was to just take lots of photos and hope one would turn out well. This did not happen very often however.Around 2008 is when I took up the standard to run with it. On a holiday in South Africa I decided to dust off my grandfather’s old Nikon F and put some film in it and got maybe a half dozen decent photos. I had also inherited a lot of my brother’s old negatives. They sat in a box for years as it was too painful to look at them; so freighted with memory were they.
Around this time it was finally time to do something. I scanned them and with some encouragement from our father, I started to make a Blurb book of his best work (available in the sidebar on the home page). It was at least 6 months of hard work in the evenings. I finished the book and was very pleased. I gave out a number of copies to friends and family. This helped me develop a hybrid film digital methodology. It also brought back many memories of my brother and these thoughts led me to purchase my first medium format film camera.
I then set about learning to meter, compose and expose images. I am living in the UK and took photos near where I lived and where I went on holiday. Slowly I found my abilities improved. First fewer basic mistakes and finally... some good photos (pleasing to me at least.). Some encouraging comments from others too. I expanded the range of equipment but always medium format and one large format camera I bought ‘accidentally’. I built up a cheap darkroom setup and re-introduced myself to black and white printing, dabbled in alternative processes; different experiments I documented on my personal blog.
I have been labeling my work under the Morse Brother’s Studio name for a few years now. It is as I have said a long winded homage to my brother but also because I print and publish his work as well. I purposely chose the plural ‘studios’ to reflect both his and mine. His is more in-my-mind than a physical location. And I have chosen the UK and Arizona as physical locations to reflect the reality of my current residence and my brother’s past in Arizona. My roots too are in Arizona so that makes it even more appropriate. The studio as a concept is where I will explore my photographic impulses and also develop and honor my brother’s work as well.
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