“I am not interested in the appearance of things, but the transformational power of my lens to penetrate into the unknown, into the eternal moment.”
Ron Rosenstock has been creating images of the world and its people since the 1950's. His work has had many incarnations from vivid colors to black and white, from the darkroom to digital, from large format cameras to full-frame digital, from early dawn to infrared dusk. His images are real, though real is hardly subjective. Viewed in objective terms, color is far more real than black and white is - if only because color is such a defining element of reality as experienced by the human eye.
His reality is more real than it would be if you were standing next to him the moment he makes the exposure. His view of the world developed from his correspondence with Ansel Adams, his work in study groups from 1967 to 1973 with his teacher Minor White and his time as a private student of Paul Caponigro. Born in 1943, he earned his MA degree in Photography from Goddard College and has been an instructor of photography since 1967 primarily at Clark University. He has exhibited his work in more than 100 shows worldwide and is featured in numerous permanent exhibitions including the Fogg Art Museum, the Worcester Art Museum, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the International Center of Photography.
Ron has published six books of his photographs and written numerous articles on the art and craft of photography. We has been featured on the WGBH nightly news with Emily Rooney in Boston and numerous cable programs around New England. Ron still continues to exhibit his work, most recently at The National Museum of Iceland, lectures at camera clubs and professional organizations and has served as a Board member of NANPA (The North American Nature Photography Association). He also leads tours around the world for professional and amateur photographers including Bhutan, Iceland, Italy, Morocco, New Zealand, Greenland, Scotland and the Faroe Islands.
My Story
Ron in the early days and today.
My work is a positive statement, affirming the beauty that surrounds us. I find that people get positive energy from seeing my work. In my own little way, by showing my work as often as I do, I feel I’m making the world a little bit better place to live in.
I retired from Clark University after teaching photography there for thirty years. I have just published my sixth book of my photographs, and my work has been featured in over 100 exhibitions, both in the U.S. and abroad, the most recent at The National Museum of Iceland. There are permanent collections of my work at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, MA, The Polaroid Collection in Cambridge, MA, and the International Center of Photography in New York.
My Love of Leading Tours
Ron in Iceland 2013
Long before I became a photo tour leader, I loved just discovering hidden places that only locals would know about, in which to create amazing photographs. Then I discovered how much I loved showing others those "secret gardens". From that grew a love of teaching, sharing and leading tours to all the special places in the world that inspire the soul. I have been leading tours since 1967, and I have photographers that travel with me year after year, often to the same locations, seeing them with new eyes and new friends.
In all of the years since, I have led hundreds of tours to many destinations worldwide. I love to share my vision and insights to all who travel with me. Although I now only photograph with a digital camera, my philosophy of teaching hasn't changed since the early large format film days. I firmly believe that the photograph comes from within, not from without. Meaning you can't buy creativity, you have to learn to recognize that creative spirit within. I teach exercises that will help that creative spirit come to the surface.
During every photo tour I create lectures, examples, reviews and projects, often during relaxing evenings after dinner and a long day of the creative process! I have had complete beginners who just bought their first SLR camera and others who knew everything about the camera. I don't like to focus on technical knowledge because I feel that you gain more from a zen approach. It isn't necessary to know all the latest digital techniques or have the latest, greatest equipment and software… but it is necessary to know yourself.
Ron at the Worcester Art Museum with his collection, 2012
My Life in Photography
Born: 1943, Monticello, New York
Education:
Goddard College 1976-1977 M.A. (Photography)
Boston University 1965-1968 A.A. (History)
1967-73 Studied with Minor White.
1969-71 Private studies with Paul Caponigro.
1968 Participated in the study group, "A Consciousness in Photography, conducted by Minor White.
1967 Participated in the workshop, A Vision and the Man Behind the Camera, conducted by Minor White.
Current member and a former board member of North American Nature Photographers' Association (NANPA).
Selected Solo Exhibits:
2019 Sacred Places, Sprinkler Factory, Worcester, Massachusetts
2019 Images by Ron Rosentstock, Rhode Island Center for Photographic Art, Providence, RI
2019 Iceland/Greenland, Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, Vermont
2018 Recent Work by Ron Rosenstock, Providence Art Club, Providence, RI
2018 Fifty Years in Photography, Worcester Center for Crafts, Worcester, Massachusetts
2014 Inspirations: Photographs of Iceland, The National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
2011-2012 Hymn to the Earth: Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, The Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
2003 Botanicals: Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, Jewish Community Center Gallery, Worcester, Massachusetts
2002 One Earth, University of Massachusetts Medical Center Gallery, Worcester, Massachusetts
Images of Italy, Gallery 401, Jewish Community Center, Providence, Rhode Island
2001 The Eternal Moment: Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, Jewish Community Center Gallery, Worcester, Massachusetts
One Earth, Holden Senior Center, Holden, Massachusetts
2000 CHIOSTRO, Images of Italy by Ron Rosenstock, Jewish Community Center Gallery, Worcester, Massachusetts
1999 Green: A Photo Essay in Black and White, Altamira Contemporary Arts and Crafts Gallery, Islip, New York
1998 The Light of Ireland, The Schabes Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
&nbs p;Sacred Places, The Holden Gale Free Library, Holden, Massachusetts
1997 One Earth, The Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene, Texas
One Earth, The Schabes Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Photographs of Mayo, The Waterfront Gallery, Westport, County Mayo, Ireland
1996 Glimpses of a Secret Ireland, Arabella Grand Hotel Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany
Ron at the opening of his solo exhibit at The National Museum of Iceland, 2014
Ireland, The Schabes Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
New Work, The Gallery at Atlantic Filmworks, Hamden, Connecticut
1995 Sanctuary, The Worcester Center for Crafts Gallery, Worcester, Massachusetts
1994 Ron Rosenstock, Photographer, The Bryant Library Gallery, Roslyn, New York
1993 Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, The Geoghegan Gallery of Photography, Galway, Ireland
1991 Photographs of Kenya and Ecuador by Ron Rosenstock, Atlantic Filmworks, Hamden, Connecticut
Studies in Light, The Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, Massachusetts
1990 Photographs of Ireland, The Gallery at Atlantic Filmworks, Hamden, Connecticut
1989 African Rhythm/Irish Cadence, Ledel Gallery, New York, New York
Black and White Landscapes, The Geoghegan Gallery of Photography, Galway, Ireland
1988 Trees Are Poems That The Earth Writes To The Sky, Newton Library Gallery, Newton, Massachusetts
1987 Fifteen Years of Ireland in Black and White, Grace O'Malley Art Gallery, Westport, County Mayo, Ireland
1985 Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, Walt Kuhn Gallery, Cape Neddick, Maine
1984 Ireland, Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, Irish Tourist Board, New York, New York
1982 New Work, Front Street Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware
1981 Ron Rosenstock, Darkroom Gallery, Denver, Colorado
1980 Ireland, Front Street Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware
Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, The Gallery of Photography, Dublin, Ireland
1979 Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, The Education Centre, Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, Photo Graphic Workshop, New Canaan, Connecticut
1977 Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, The Carpenter Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1974 Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, Thoor Ballylee Museum, Gort, County Galway, Ireland
1973 Ron Rosenstock, 8 X 10 Contacts, Creative Photography Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Selected Group Exhibits:
2002 Photographic Perspectives, The Lavitt Gallery, Cork, Ireland
2001 Two Photographers in Italy, Ron Rosenstock and Stephen Jareckie, The Italian Cultural Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
1999 Irish Artists Night, Tweed's, Worcester, Massachusetts
One Earth, Two Views: Photographs by Stephen DiRado and Ron Rosenstock, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
1995 Paul Caponigro, Ron Rosenstock: Spiritual Landscapes, Fletcher/Priest Gallery, Worcester, Massachusetts
1990 Caponigro/Rosenstock/Stettner, Neikrug Gallery, New York, New York
1989 Fools Gold, Bridge Mills Gallery, Galway, Ireland
Keepers of Light, The Collectors Gallery, Worcester, Massachusetts
Caponigro/Rosenstock, The Gay Head Gallery, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
1985 Landscape II: Cole Weston, Lilliane DeCock, Ron Rosenstock, Images Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
1982 Ireland, Ledel Gallery, New York, New York
1980 The Polaroid Collection, Recent Acquisitions, Clarence Kennedy Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1976 Members' Exhibit, Friends of Photography, Carmel, California
196 9 Fourteen Photographers, Schenectady Art Museum, Schenectady, New York
1968 Light 7, Curated by Minor White, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Corporate Sales:
Aware Corporation, Bedford, Massachusetts
Fidelity Investments, Boston, Massachusetts
Permanent Collections:
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
Castlebar Urban District Council, Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
The Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
International Center of Photography, New York, New York
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Teaching:
Photography at Clark University, Worcester, MA 1972-2002.
Photography Tour Leader 1969 to the present.
Portfolios:
1997 Light of Ireland, Portfolio II, privately issued limited edition
1975 Light of Ireland, Portfolio I, privately issued limited edition
Selected Published Articles, Books, Media Productions and Reviews:
Following in the footsteps of Ansel Adams
2014 Inspirations, The Photographs of Iceland by Ron Rosenstock, The accompanying book to his exhibition at The National Museum of Iceland.
2012 The Invisible Light, Infrared Photographs by Ron Rosenstock, A book of 25 infrared photographs and the poetry of Gabriel Rosenstock translated into four languages.
2003 Hymn to the Earth, A book of 42 Duotone black and white photographs from around the world, accompanied by the poetry of Irish poet Gabriel Rosenstock.
2002 View Camera, "Learning the Art and Craft of Black and White Photography," March/April, pp. 14-19.
2001 CHIOSTRO, Images of Italy, A book of 40 photographs with a chapter on black and white printing techniques. The Silver Strand Press, Holden, Massachusetts
2000 The Light of Ireland, A book of twenty-six photographs by Ron Rosenstock. Introduction by Paul Caponigro. The Silver Strand Press, Holden, Massachusetts
1997 The Literary Review, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Summer 1997, Volume 40, Number 4, Cover Photograph and pp. 650-654
View Camera, July/August, pp.22-28.
1995 Canon Photo Safari, four half-hour cable television productions.
Worcester Sunday Telegram, April 2, Datebook, pp.11,15. Review/Interview.
1994 Fánaíocht I gContae Mhaigh Eo (Rambles in County Mayo), Seamus Uidhir with 70 photographs by Ron Rosenstock. Dublin, Ireland: An Gum.
Newsday, July 29, Section B, Review, p.34.
1993 Ireland of the Welcomes, Dublin, Ireland. Volume 42, Number 2, pp.26-29.
The New York Times, Travel Section, June 20, pp.1, 19
1992 Worth Magazine, August/September, pp.128-129.
1991 View Camera, May/June, Interview, pp.3-10.
1990 International Center of Photography Annual Report, from their collection, p.44.
1989 Vineyard Gazette, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. May 26.
The New York Times, Travel Section, July 15, pp. 1, 15-16.
1982-85 Druid Calendar, Cahill and Co., Dobbs Ferry, New York.
1979 Ireland of the Welcomes, Dublin, Ire land. Volume 28, Number 4, July/August, pp.30-32.
1977 Photography: The Portrait, privately-issued, limited-edition monograph, eight original prints.
1972 Camera, Lucerne, Switzerland, July, pp.14-23.
1971 Camera, Lucerne, Switzerland, April, pp. 20-21, 25, 38.
1970 Camera, Lucerne, Switzerland, June, pp. 36-37, 40.
1968 Aperture, Volume 1, Number 2, "Light7," p.9.