Who am I?...
My brand is RE Casper. I'd say name, but in this world today, is that not the goal? … Or at least the end result of the independent creative. To create your name into a brand of available talents. A little hint, that hopefully inspires an image in the mind of those that hear the name.
I was born and raised in the heartland of Southern Illinois. A rural farmland, with a vast countryside, pockmarked with little towns... for better or worse, depending on the "town." :-)
An artist, as far back as memory permits; I grew up working with traditional media such as graphite, ink and oil paints. During any social session throughout high school and college, I was generally the guy with a camera in my hand. Personally I'm a reflector, I have a deep appreciation for grasping the important memories in life to come back and enjoy again and again.
I feel we can live forever through our memories, our work and the mark we leave on others. My art has always flowed through that.
For ten years I've ebb and flowed between graphic design positions in-house and out, working for teams or as team lead art director. Along the way, completing projects for companies such as CostCo, Blockbuster, ReMax, Scan Digital, Camoclad and many more. Eventually I found independent contract to be the most freeing of paths toward artistic freedom. It was only this past year (2011) that I picked the camera back up, intent on gazing through the viewfinder with an artistic eye again.
I soon realized that the camera was the form of expression I had always connected with. It gives me the ability to freeze moments in time and portray them how I see them. To share how I see the world in my true form. This was something I could never attain with my traditional media and have not looked back since I picked up my trusty dusty 550D.
I'm not formally trained in photography or the arts, in any usual sense. I went to college in Southern Illinois for a couple years, got the papers and t-shirt to prove it. But it really never helped me. I was a graphic designer for ten years and learned from online tutorials, audio broadcasts and many a trip to Barnes and Noble. The same can be said about my rediscovered love of photography. I'm no professional behind the camera, just as I never considered myself a professional behind the mouse. With my constant yearning for more, it's very unlikely that I will ever say, "I'm comfortable enough for all projects." This is my outlook of a professional. I am a serious hobbyist and I’ll also look at it this way, so as not to ever think of it as work.
I'm not formally trained in photography or the arts, in any usual sense. I went to college in Southern Illinois for a couple years, got the papers and t-shirt to prove it. But it really never helped me. I was a graphic designer for ten years and learned from online tutorials, audio broadcasts and many a trip to Barnes and Noble. The same can be said about my rediscovered love of photography. I'm no professional behind the camera, just as I never considered myself a professional behind the mouse. With my constant yearning for more, it's very unlikely that I will ever say, "I'm comfortable enough for all projects." This is my outlook of a professional. I am a serious hobbyist and I’ll also look at it this way, so as not to ever think of it as work.
My focus varies on my mood. A nomad by nature, I moved to Columbia, Mo for a few years to get away from the norm and found travel addictive. After soaking up the new area, finding my beautiful fiancee and getting the itch to move on to a new area, we relocated to Chicago in 2009 and have loved our time here. The city has actually developed my style toward structure around the urban setting. My interest is perked by street life, architecture, cityscapes and decay. Pretty much in that order.
If you follow my blog or any of the my various social lines, then you know my style is focused toward contrasty, black and white with a common high emphasis on structure. I adore the lines and texture of our world. Ironically, Trey Ratcliff inspired me to pick up the camera and learn HDR. I worked hard to learn this technique, and after a string of loving works, I found my use of HDR more leaned toward pulling out the lines of my subject and eventually began steering away from color. I find the lines much more interesting when the distraction of color is removed. Don't get me wrong some scenes I would never remove the color from. It would be an injustice to many images. But as an artist with Red/Green color blindness, I have a deep love/hate relationship with color. Its’ my cross to bear. ;-)
I hope that you see something that boils the creative juices and you get out there and express yourself.
