About

I have been living outside the U.S.A. for a decade now, so my social contact with old friends is entirely on line. I am starting this “vanity” gallery of my photographic work because these are my favorites, and I wanted to share them with anyone who might be interested.

I would – of course! – love to read any comments, so please click here to leave one or write me directly at: dercumover@gmail.com.              

A mis amigos latinos, disculpe que este escrito no es traducido. Google Traducir!!

Career summary – case example:

I got my first camera – a Kodak Brownie Flash 620 kit – for Christmas in 1959. This gallery of photos has been collected from the ensuing chaos of obsession. To illustrate:

I used to think that a 200 mm. telephoto lens was a long enough reach for me, since I was never particularly drawn to the calling of sports photography. I mean, at the apex of your profession, you are hunched over for hours on the sidelines fostering chronic low-back pain while crap-shooting in the ephemeral human blur called sports, all for that one standout photo from the maybe 10,000 taken that day by the 40 other photographers with their elbows in your ribs. Not for me.

So - one day in the early ‘80s, my entirely adequate 200 mm. lens and I got hired to take a surveillance photo for an insurance fraud investigation. There was this guy who was getting disability payments for a back injury and working on a loading dock at the same time. I showed up in a seedy, deserted warehouse zone somewhere in South Philly at 8 a.m., and sure enough, here’s this guy loading a truck with large boxes, which he’s hefting with no apparent difficulty.

A 200 mm. lens in 35 mm. format equals four-power magnification. I needed to get a photo of this large, potentially unruly man while he was lifting a box, with his face clearly identifiable, so I needed to be about as far away from him as the length of the cereal aisle in your local supermarket.

Okay, I got that close while his back was turned. I was kneeling behind a parked car and framing the shot while waiting for him to turn around. When he suddenly did turn around, I was focused through the camera on his body, and there, tucked into his belt, was a pistol. A big, large, obvious pistol. Magnified four times. Huh.

So here’s a guy who goes to work armed, because lifting boxes is inherently conflict-prone? Where am I? Why? Can a pure moment of transcendental gestalt be induced by a sudden-onset, bed-wetting anxiety attack? These are the questions that preoccupied me for the next several decades. Turns out a camera actually doesn’t come between the photographer and reality, Ms. Sontag.

Luckily, the loading dock was in bright morning sun, so the phenomenon of “camera shake” was not so apparent in the resulting photos as it would have been under cloudy skies. I got it done without being seen, or getting shot either. I heard later that the insurance company stopped the guy’s payments, and also that his parole status was under review, which was interesting new information to me, because that extra detail would have commanded leverage during the original discussion of my fee.

After that episode, I was led in directions other than forensic photography. However, I am distinguished among former wedding photographers by the uncommon attribute of having enjoyed that relaxing line of work, and I no longer consider that 200 mm. is a “long” lens. 

Fast-forward through 35 years of pretty much the same approach to career, and here we are. Please enjoy these photos.

There is also a section of this site labelled “family and friends,” in which I have put photos I like of people I like. (It is by no means comprehensive.) With respect for burgeoning paranoia (my own included) about facial recognition technology, I asked a number of people if they minded having their photos on an open internet website – captioned only with a first name. So far, no one has minded, but if you do, please tell me and I’ll remove the photo.

All photos are copyrighted. One-time use is available for free to registered non-profits that submit an explanatory request. Friends are welcome, but you should ask first. All other uses are negotiable upon request. Please use the contact button to apply.

N.B. Attribution required - without attribution, an exorbitant bill will be sent – repeatedly. Web crawlers are cheap and fun.

– Dercum Over, 2019