Books

TED SCHIFFMAN has been a photographer for 40 years. He developed an interest and direction in color photography as a natural outlet for his many years of training and study as an artist. In addition to having an artist's eye for balance and composition, he is a fastidious and skillful darkroom craftsman. Ted Schiffman believes that "the complete photographer should see his work through to the end, from taking the image to making the print." He adheres to the philosophy of Ansel Adams, with whom he studied: "If creating the photograph is the composition, then producing the print is the performance." His entire collection of images illustrates not only his fine artistic and photographic abilities, but also a love and respect for the inherent beauty of Nature's many subjects. Committed to revealing this beauty, not creating it, he avoids the photographer's prerogative of technical distortion, either in the field, the darkroom or with a computer. Often seen as a purist, he simply chooses to maintain the photograph's integrity by always keeping it tethered to reality. With an eye attuned to the subjects, forms, textures, colors, and moods of Nature, Ted Schiffman has produced a portfolio of photographs everyone can appreciate. His forte is the intimate, the close, the real---images that feast the eye and excite the imagination---personal images in familiar, recognizable forms. His repertoire of wildlife images exemplify a captivating and emotional connection made with the subject's soul. In his travels, searching for images, he has captured on film the diversity and magnificence of the flora and fauna found in many remote regions of the world, from the Dead Sea to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Among his many accomplishments, he has participated in, photographed, and published work about wildlife research on endangered animal species. These species include the California condor, the Florida panther, the peregrine falcon, and the lemurs of Madagascar. In addition, he has lectured at the American Museum of Natural History on the challenges facing the wildlife photographer while on assignment. His photographs have been published worldwide by The National Geographic Society, The United States Department of the Interior, The World Wildlife Fund, The Smithsonian Institution, The American Museum of Natural History, encyclopedias Americana and Britannica, The Sierra Club, GEO, Vogue, and Adventure Travel, among many others. He has published a book on photographic techniques in the wilderness, entitled "A Guide to Backpacking Photography." His photographic stories on polar bears, bald eagles, and wolves have been published in many newspapers. He has exhibited at numerous galleries, institutions, and universities, including The American Museum of Natural History. His prints are collected privately and by institutions and corporations throughout the United States and Europe.