MENU


HOME

ARTISTS

SUPPORTING ARTISTS

ABOUT US

HOW TO JOIN

BAS IN THE NEWS

BAS EVENTS

LINKS

MESSAGEBOARD

CONTACT

 

Drew Bedo

Drew Bedo's Artwork



Although legally blind, Drew Bedo creates fine-art photographic images using traditional films in vintage and antique view cameras.
 His work is available at public showings and through his website at www.quietlightphoto.com.

Biography
Drew Bedo comes to large format photography late in life, after following several technical careers.  As a drilling fluid engineer in the oil industry, Bedo photographed stock images of desert scenes from oil rigs in the middle-east. 
            In the late eighties, Bedo trained in diagnostic imaging at Baylor college of Medicine. He performed Nuclear Medicine procedures on patients using radioactive isotopes and digital imaging equipment.  During this time, Bedo developed his interest in large format photography as a low-tech, hands-on counterpoint to his daily work.
            In 2002, a medical condition rendered him legally blind in a matter of days. Forced to leave Nuclear Medicine, he retired.  Suburban life is confining without the ability to drive.  Entertainment options are limited to listening to information programming and audio books.
            “Legally Blind” does not mean total blindness. Bedo has residual vision.  He sees muted shapes with subdued colors and some detail in a narrowed field of view in one eye. He now reads with magnifying appliances, yet he cannot make out identifying facial features. This is the nature of Bedo’s visual ability.
            Eventually he climbed out of his easy chair to unpack his 8×10 camera.  On a sunny day he set it up and turned it on a garden statue.  He made out a change in the ground-glass image as he racked the focus knob back and forth and was elated.  He began to shoot again from time-to-time.
            Today, Drew Bedo creates fine-art photographic images with traditional materials in antique and vintage large format cameras. His images are available on-line and at public showings.

Artist Statement
            In 2002 I became legally blind.  One eye has no useful vision; the other has severely degraded vision.  Yet I see. There are some things that I can no longer do at all, and many things that I must now do differently. Photography is one of them.
            Working with view cameras is essential for me.  The twenty square inches of composing area on a 4×5 inch ground-glass is the minimum that I can effectively work with.
            Merely framing a sweeping landscape does not work well for me anymore. The scenes are too wide and deep. I must experience subjects directly. I have to walk into a scene, or handle objects, to fully evaluate the potential for an effective composition.  When I “see” an object or scene, I cannot fully appreciate it visually; I must use the other senses to understand the shapes, textures and spatial relationships.
            Photography for me is now more than a creative act.  It has become a therapeutic affirmation of my ability to adapt to, adjust to, and accept my condition. Photography has become more than another way of seeing. For me, photography IS seeing.
-Drew Bedo

The Gear:
4×5: Early Zone VI (Wista; 1980’s)
8×10: Kodak Eastman View 2D (mid 1930’s)
90mm f/8 Nikkor-SW
150mm f/5.6 Fuginon-W
210mm f/5.6 Caltar-N
Vintage (uncoated) lenses may be used from time to time.
The Films:
Transparency: Fuji Velvia 100
B&W: Kodak Tri-X, T-Max 100
Other films are used occasionally.
The Prints:
All of my images are created using traditional films in these vintage and antique view cameras with contemporary lenses.
All of my work is now digitally scanned at high resolution. All images are offered as Giclee prints produced on Epson printers with archival pigmented inks.
This digital work is performed by Wayne Sandlin’s Photography by Design, a small but comprehensive digital studio in Houston. I insist that digital manipulations are restricted to minimal adjustments in color and contrast. If it is not on the film, it is not in the print.

View more of Drew's work on his website: www.quietlightphoto.com