Larry
Ostrom
|
WHAT
|
Photographic
Images / Digital Images |
|
WHERE
|
Ostrom
Photography, between Perth and Westport - 273-2034,
ostrom@rideau.net |
|
WHY
|
"My
work is turning the ordinary into visual gold." |
|
|
Larry
Ostrom - Panning for Gold
by Sally Hansen
Did
you notice the striking "Empty Bowls" print recently
that advertised fundraising events for the Perth Food Bank
and Youth Centre (YAK)? Then you'll understand why theHumm
invited Larry Ostrom to be our featured artist this month.
Larry's digitally enhanced photo of an empty bowl sitting
on an otherwise empty table in front of an empty chair illustrates
his gift for using his camera to "turn the ordinary
into visual gold."
That is the challenge that drives a highly successful commercial
photographer with a list of prestige clients (Art Gallery
of Ontario, The McMichael Canadian Art Collection...) to
devote more and more of his time to creating photographic
art. "That's when you're working with your heart and
your creativity. I don't take photographs; I make them,"
he explained. The "Empty Bowls" poster is a great
example of how Larry Ostrom makes a powerful image that
captures the viewer's attention and evokes an emotional
response.
Prospecting
After working a few years in marketing, Larry found his
true calling when he took a camera along on a seven-month
exploration of Canada. When he returned he pursued an honours
diploma in creative photography at Humber College. Then
he had a lucky strike - he landed a job as a photographic
technician at the Art Gallery of Ontario. A year later he
was working as a photographer, and within five years became
the head of the Gallery's photography department.
The AGO provided ten years of incomparable training and
opportunity. Ostrom's photographs of some of the world's
best art appear in gallery catalogues and top art publications
such as Art Magazine and Inuit Art Quarterly.
"I was surrounded by art 40 hours a week - what better
job is there?"
Exploring
Another Vein
For Ostrom, the answer was to strike out on his own to pursue
his artistic vision. The story of how he decided to locate
his new business (formerly Christie Lake Studios; now Ostrom
Photography) about 25 km southwest of Perth is heart-warming.
During an earlier trip to Ottawa to explore the possibility
of a position at the National Gallery, he and his former
wife stopped to get a bite at a restaurant in Perth (the
former Tinkers). They got chatting with the friendly proprietors
who invited them to a barn dance in Brooke on Saturday night.
The couple booked into a motel, went to the dance, and Larry
still remembers the old claw-footed tub full of ice and
beer. When he was ready to make his move, this is the friendly
venue they chose.
Visual
Gold
Larry Ostrom's talent for mining visual gold from commonplace
objects is immediately evident in several series of recent
art photos he shows me. He works in both colour and black
and white, and prefers shooting in large format. Whether
his subject is the contents of an antique store, the face
of a cliff, or cows, he finds and presents the extraordinary.
His portraits are outstanding. He recently produced a series
of black and white portraits of men living in the Perth
area, and his ungarnished approach (no props, no distractions
in the background) amplifies the emotional impact of each
image.
A
Stickler for Technique
Ostrom views technique as the basic underpinning for his
success both as a commercial photographer, and as an artist.
"As a professional photographer, you can't rely on
luck! To me, it's a matter of quality," he stated as
he showed me around his studio. The scanners and printers
and imported paper and inks represent a considerable investment,
but Ostrom is talking primarily about how he spends his
time.
He has already spent over thirty years mastering the techniques
of developing film and masterprinting in a "wet"
darkroom, and now he is investing his time and more money
in becoming expert in the burgeoning field of digital photography.
He tells me "high-end digital film scanning and printing
give me more flexibility in working with the image, plus
I can print on museum quality papers." Then he wryly
quotes the Adobe adage "Photoshop isn't software; it's
a lifestyle!"
He demonstrated the power of his new medium by showing me
a portrait of a group of women. Never have I seen a group
photo where each individual was captured so well. Then he
showed me the five different group shots he had taken from
which he painstakingly extracted the best image of each
woman and morphed them into a wonderful new photographic
composition. Even after I knew where to look, his manipulations
were invisible.
A
Golden Opportunity
Serendipitously, on July 20th Humm readers can see (and
buy) one of Ostrom's best-loved photos by participating
in "For the Love of a Horse Day" in Perth.
The event is raising money to install a life-sized bronze
statue of one of the greatest teams in equestrian history
- rider Ian Millar on show jumper Big Ben - in Perth's "Big
Ben Park," across from the Library. Together, Millar
and Big Ben made history by becoming the first horse-rider
combination to win back-to-back World Cup Finals in 1988
and 1989. In 1996 the winning team was inducted into Canada's
Sports Hall of Fame.
A year before Big Ben's death in 1999, Larry spent hours
at the farm to capture an image worthy of this magnificent
animal. To create the final stunning portrait, Ostrom digitally
enhanced the image and produced a limited edition of 500
"Big Ben" Giclee prints signed by Ian Millar.
For a very modest donation of $5, visitors will be picked
up every 15 minutes between 10AM and 4PM at Perth's downtown
Crystal Palace and taken by bus for a self-directed tour
of nearby Millar Brooke Farm. In addition to meeting Ian
Millar, guests will also see two uniformed RCMP riders.
Click here for another convenient
opportunity to see examples of his photographic art. Busy
with commercial and commissioned work, Larry currently is
working on a new exhibit of images involving the garden.
Of course, he welcomes enquiries at 273-2034 or at ostrom@rideau.net.
