Published: November 10, 2007 09:29 pm            

Stillwater Art Guild sees slide show of England trip

Recently, Stuart Harrison, archaeologist and photographer, demonstrated photography techniques for the Stillwater Art Guild during a slide show of a recent trip to England.

“A trip home always brings to mind the white cliffs of Dover, quaint farms scattered across the countryside, learning that a cup of tea would cure everything from a shiner to a skinned knee, hearing the old tongue spoken in local shops, museums and pubs as history whispers in the wind,” Harrison told the group.

He is the son of a British mother and an American father, spending several years in England obtaining a European education. He grew up in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, with Chaucer and Dickens as his constant bedside companions.

He received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a specialty in petroglyphs. His images are on permanent display in numerous private collections and locations including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and the departments of anthropology at OU, OSU, University of California at San Diego and the University of Colorado.

“Digital photography is close to being able to produce the color saturation that film does. You can manipulate the digital camera until the composition comes to life,” he told guild members.

Harrison showed 400 slides of England, including ones of his aunt and uncle’s farm near Bradford, and used an English World War I helmet, a Sherlock Holmes sleuth hat, a bowler and an American World War II helmet in his presentation.

Techniques he showed included backlighting on the tassels of the Royal Guard’s helmet, shadowing of ancient buildings and a polarizing filter for a photo of Admiral Nelson’s statue on Trafalgar Square.

        

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