Vicki Valosik ElZarrad



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Mobile Entertainment Guide

March 2005

I recently had the honor of spending an afternoon with one of Mobile’s finest photographers, Stephen Savage. When I arrived for the interview he was putting the finishing touches on his most recent project, a calendar featuring his artwork and that of his friend and colleague, Kim Pearson, which the two had slated to hand bind into book form that weekend. Making his own day planner has become a yearly tradition for Savage; bookbinding being just one of his creative interests.

Savage, who received his degree in Art History from George Washington University, began his career in photography shooting rock and roll concerts and fashion shows. From there his career progressed as he had the opportunity to study with exceptionally good photographers from around the country and develop his own unique brand of photography. “I photograph people,” said Savage, “and what I’m trying to do – my intent – is to photograph the commonality of the human experience, the things that make us human. I choose to do that from the filter of innocence. There are lots of commonalities about human kind: sorrow, deceit… but I choose to capture joy, spontaneity, discovery. It’s not Pollyannaish to say innocence. Photography is a medium where you select what to include. I make photos of people doing what people do and also places where people have been.”

I asked Savage which photographers he admires the most or that have influenced his work. He responded, “I have a list of photographers that I share with my students. The truth is there are so many people I admire.” The list of those who have effected his work is shorter, however, with renowned photographer Keith Carter being tops. Savage said of Carter with whom he worked in Palm Beach, “He has a psychology happening in his photographs that I emulate. He taught me how to make the situations that I was already pre-visualizing.”

Savage is originally from Washington D.C. where he lived most of his life, with a two-year intermission in New York, before moving to Mobile in 1997. His distinguished resume includes Director of Special Events for the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and past President of the Mobile Arts Council, among many other honors. In 2001 Savage was awarded the Visual Arts Fellowship in Photography from the Alabama State Council on the Arts which he described as a “tremendous validation” for his work. His work has appeared in prestigious publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Oxford American, and City Paper.

After moving to Mobile, he opened Savage Photo Lab and Gallery which, in addition to being a commercial darkroom, became a gathering place for local artists and a showplace for all types of exhibits. Due to a slow economy and changes in the market, Savage’s had to close its doors in 2002. Even though that was a sad time, not only for Savage, but for the arts community in Mobile as well, he as continued his work in other ways. Savage said of himself now, “I am an artist and an educator.”

As an educator, he teaches photography at Spring Hill College and at the Eastern Shore Art Center. His courses vary from “Everything You Want to Know to Be a Better Photographer” to “Handcoloring” to alternative processes such as “Polaroid Film Manipulation,” “Cyanotypes” (more commonly known as sun prints) and “Ziatypes”. He also leads workshops on a sporadic basis.

These alternative processes that Savage sometimes uses give his work a surreal or dreamlike quality. Another favorite secret weapon for achieving this look is his Holga, a plastic toy camera that exposes medium format negatives (which are 2 ½ inches square). Because it is a toy, it does not hold the film tightly which produces a vignette effect around pictures’ edges. The Holga “sees” a picture more like the human eye than does a standard camera. Savage explained, when we look straight ahead objects in our peripheral vision are not in focus; a standard camera focuses everything that is in the same focal plane, but the Holga leaves the periphery blurry, as does the human eye. With Savage being so in tune to the darkroom process and mastering the manipulations that can be done by hand, I was curious to know what he thought of the revolution of digital photography that has caused huge divides in photographic circles. His answer, “I teach the history of photography at Spring Hill. One constant besides making images is that the technology constantly changes. Some people resist the new technology, but I tend to embrace it. I am sitting here talking to you, working on Photoshop.”

One of Savage’s most recent endeavors was a stint in Miami’s South Beach as an artist in residence making environmental portraits (a portrait taken in someone’s natural environment) of other artists which he is currently trying to produce as a book. He said, “I try to make an environmental portrait that tells who the person is emotionally and artistically and what kinds of things they like to do.” He added that he enjoys human contact and spends time with his subjects before photographing them. That engagement between the photographer and the subject is an essential part of producing a natural and relaxed image, according to Savage.

Besides portrait work, Savage finds that human contact through photographing weddings, which he began doing a few years ago. He said that it was never his goal to shoot weddings, but as people saw his work in other venues, they would approach him about photographing their weddings. “I have found that I get to be with people having about the most joyful day of their lives. It is such a privilege,” said Savage. To him weddings are another representation of that innocence and “commonality of the human experience” that is evident in all his work.

In February Savage’s work was exhibited at the Eastern Shore Art Center. For upcoming events, classes, and workshops or to see more of Stephen Savage’s photography, visit www.savagepictures.com. Those interested in unlisted workshops such as Handcoloring, Book-binding, or Alternative Processes, email savagephoto@msn.com