Robert Weingarten: 6:30 AM

An outdoor exhibition of Robert Weingarten’s contemporary photography is installed in the winter landscape of George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film through Feb. 12, 2006. The 19 photographs, 40-by-40 inches in size and featuring varying vivid colors, are from Weingarten’s 6:30 AM series. Daily over one year’s time, Weingarten captured the changing light of the same scene over Santa Monica Bay from his home in Malibu, Calif., with a camera in the same position at the same time of day — 6:30 a.m.

“When one thinks of landscape photography, it is perceived of in much more languorous terms; slowly executed, contemplative, still. But this is usually not the case,” said Weingarten. “Though the preparation can be hours, days or longer, with the light and mood constantly changing and evolving, there is indeed a ‘decisive moment’ that captures the essence of a landscape.”

The Robert Weingarten: 6:30 AM exhibition is installed on the front lawn of the restored 1905 George Eastman House. The images reveal a stunning spectrum of light and color, each picture a dramatic variation on the same Pacific Ocean tableaux. The series is the result of a long-term project completed within strict conceptual parameters. Shooting from a single viewpoint, looking southeast over Santa Monica Bay, Weingarten photographed the view from his bedroom porch over one year’s time, from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2003. To create the series, Weingarten used a camera that would make an image 2-inches square, using slow speed and fine-resolution, color-saturated transparency film, as well as a 350mm telephoto lens. The film used was bought at the start of the project from the same production batch, and was stored at the same temperature and humidity for its duration. All exposures were made with the lens focused on infinity and at the aperture speed of f/22. The only variable elements allowed into the process were the natural changes in the atmosphere and shutter speed of the lens, which was adjusted according to the quantity and quality of light available each morning.

The photographs have been printed on acid-free Somerset Velvet Fine Art Enhanced Matte Cotton Rag paper from digital files created directly from Weingarten’s transparencies. The digital images were then pigment printed on an Epson Stylus Pro 9600 printer, using Epson Ultrachrome pigment ink. The series displays Weingarten’s ability to evoke a sense of the power and beauty of nature reminiscent of the Hudson River School painters. The photographs’ color and compositions provide the viewer with an intimation of the endless chromatic range of light, an astonishing procession of color-saturated splendor.

Weingarten has created the 19 photographs for the George Eastman House installation as expendable prints for outdoor display. The prints are mounted back-to-back and specially sealed in a Plexiglass casing, designed to be moisture and sun retardant.

The 6:30 AM series is featured in a 2005 book of the same title, published by Hatjie Cantz, which is Weingarten’s third photography book in two years.

Robert Weingarten lecture, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14
Robert Weingarten will discuss his photography career during an illustrated lecture, titled “In My Minds Eye: The Selected Works of Robert Weingarten,” at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, in the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House. A booksigning will follow the lecture, as well as a reception hosted by Greater Rochester Visitors Association in conjunction with ColdRush. The lecture is included with museum admission and free to members. For more information, please call (585) 271-3361 ext. 218.

About Robert Weingarten
Robert Weingarten’s career has centered for more than 30 years on the financial world, serving as CEO and chairman of several financial institutions. However, at the same time he has continued to pursue photography, his first and most abiding passion from youth. At the age of 54 he decided to become fully committed to his photographic art.

In less than 10 years, Weingarten’s work has been featured in more than 50 exhibitions worldwide. He has earned the distinction Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (FRPS) Bath, England. His images are in the permanent collections of 18 museums, including J. Paul Getty Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art Whitney Museum of American Arts, Smithsonian Institution, and George Eastman House. His landscapes often showcase repetitive natural forms and magnificent hues. The 6:30 AM series is a prime example of Weingarten’s style.

“My images try to at once reflect the timelessness of the landscape, and the fleeting nature of a particular confluence of light and conditions that render a dramatic and signal moment; a moment in which I try to capture a three dimensional world with all the senses of being there — the sights, the sounds, the smells, the feel of the air — onto a two dimensional plane, a still image, with the hope that the ultimate viewer will experience what I felt,” Weingarten explained.