Tom Hennessy
Educational Background:
1975 B.S. in Biology, California State College, California, PA
1979 Certificate in Photography, Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA
I studied photography at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in the late 1970’s using film cameras, and I had my own darkroom. I worked mostly in black and white. But to pay the bills I have worked in a very time consuming, high travel job in Industrial Water Treatment since 1975, most recently as the Director of Polymer Sales and Support for ChemTreat, Inc., a Richmond based company. In 2011 I purchased my first Canon DSLR and began to become focused on relearning photography in the digital age. Since then I have upgraded both my camera body and lenses. My favorite lenses are my 100 mm macro lens that I use for floral photography, and my 16 to 35 mm lens that I use for landscapes.
I try to take photographs that require minimal editing; I want to capture the image in the camera, and require only a small amount of digital tweaking.
I have been entering juried shows at Crossroads Art Center and Artworks in Richmond, VA since 2012, and I currently am an Artist in Residence at Crossroads. Since I retired in early 2016, I have more time to focus on my photography, especially travel and scenic photography. I am a volunteer at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, and I spend quite a bit of time there taking photographs that they use for social media.
Artist Statement:
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else.” - Georgia O’Keefe
“Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in.” - Amy Lowell
These quotations are not from photographers, but from a painter and a poet. My approach to photography is very much influenced by writers, poets and painters, and I especially love the work of Georgia O’Keefe and Edward Weston. I want the beauty of the natural world to be captured in my photos, and want to show the details that we easily overlook in daily life. It is common to see flowers in a garden, and there is much to admire in a well laid out garden. But, to me, the essence is in often in the details of the individual flowers - the slowly opening petals of a rose; the colors and flair of a calla lily blossom; the dewdrops on the petals of a dahlia. These are the images that excite me to make my photographs, and I want you to see them and experience them as well.
Please visit tomhennessy.zenfolio.com to see additional works including scenic, abstract and floral works.
10303 Seatoncroft Ct., Mechanicsville, VA 23116
Cell: (804) 363-0907
E-mail: tjhennessy@comcast.net
Portfolio Website: www.tomhennessy.zenfolio.com
