©Michael Manheim
©Michael Manheim
Lessons in violin, saxophone, tap dancing, and oil painting fed Michael Philip Manheim's
youthful creativity, but it was a chance encounter with a camera that began a lifelong
pursuit of the craft of photography.
re•flex•ive, a series of images reflecting his photographic journey, is featured at the
Griffin Museum at Digital Silver Imaging in Belmont, MA, June 2 through July 16. A
gallery talk is June 7, 7 p.m., at Digital Silver.
Manheim says that as a "nearsighted 13 year old" he became inseparable from the tools of
photography and began making a name for himself in local photo contests. When his images
began being published, he says, he realized he "saw things others did not."
He participated in his high school's photography program, but "family expectation" led
him to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He made an
attempt to run the family retail business, but was driven to pursue his love,
photography, and attended photography classes at Kent State.
Moving his young family to New England in 1969 marked the beginning of his professional
photography career. His clients ranged from ad agencies to corporations to design firms.
He shot for 40 international stock agencies and developed a photojournalistic approach to
his work.
Manheim began with black and white photography and "rode the challenging landscape
through the color explosion of the 70s," to return to a concentration on black and white
for his personal work.
By 1984, his fulltime pursuit was stock, travel, and fine art photography. His desire to
explore themes of change and transformation led him to devise unique techniques and
pursue a variety of subjects.
In retrospect, Manheim says his strength is his "ability to be reactive, reflexively." He
adds that his skill and training "meld swiftly with his desire to capture the delight of
his eye, seeking to reflect humor, passion, reverence, and irreverence" and he "becomes
the conduit to celebrate the moment."
Manheim's work has been exhibited in Germany, Greece, Italy, and Hawaii.
The gallery is open to the public Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 5:30 PM, to mirror
Digital Silver's hours, or by appointment. Call 781-729-1158.
The Griffin Museum of Photography is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 am - 5 pm; Friday
11 am - 4 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, noon - 4 pm. The Museum is closed on Monday.
Admission is $5 for adults; $2 for seniors. Members and children under 12 are admitted
free. Admission is free to all every Thursday. For more information, call 781-729-1158.
Digital Silver Imaging (DSI) was founded in 2008 as a dedicated black-and-white photolab.
DSI offers a unique printing process that provides beautiful fiber-based and resin-coated
black-and- white silver gelatin prints directly from digital files. Through a full suite
of printing and finishing services, DSI creates museum quality, continuous tone images,
uniting the advances of the digital world with the art and archival properties of true
black-and-white printing. For more on Digital Silver Imaging visit www.digitalsilverimaging.com or call
617-489-0035.(Map)
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