Getting Schooled with Henry Horenstein

Henry Horenstein was in the office today, and was his usual pleasant, gracious, wonderful self. I’ve only met Henry a few times, but he taught me the foundations of photography through his books, and if sales of his classic manuals Black and White Photography and Beyond Basic Photography are any indication, I’m not alone.

How fortuitous, then, that Horenstein, the ultimate professor (he teaches at RISD and learned his craft from Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind and Minor White), would stop by today– right in time for our School of Stock launch. Brilliant! Even better was that he brought a preview copy of his new book Animalia with him.

Animalia follows Horenstein’s books Creatures, Aquatics and Canine, and includes work made between 1995 and 2001. Though it seems shocking, all this work is expressly low-fi; Horenstein works mostly by himself, at zoos and aquariums. He does this intentionally; he notes that if he went to an aquarium with three assistants, “they’d pull me aside in a second”. Horenstein uses 35mm film cameras with macro lenses and Scala (he has a bunch stock-piled in his refrigerator). I questioned Horenstein about his technique and he says he’s developed a “variety of really obscure little methods just for this. I like the no big-deal aspect of it; there’s no decisive moment– they’re always going to be swimming around that tank. It’s just a matter of patience.”

Well, I’m glad we waited. Here are some samples. The book will be available on Amazon in about a month.

Brown Sea Nettles-Chrysaora fuscescens

African Grey Parrot– Psittacua erithacus

Lookdown Fish–Selene vomer

White-cheeked Spider Monkey–Ateles marginatus

Beluga Whale-Delphinapterus leucas

Gold Dust Newt–Cynops ensicauda

Seahorse–Hippocampus erectus

Indian Peafowl–Pavo cristatus

Domestic Pig–Sus scrofa domestica

Domestic Poodle–Canis lupus familiaris

American Eel–Anguilla rostrata

Domestic Great Dane–Canis lupus familiaris

See more of Animalia here, and check out Horenstein’s work in our collection! And, if you’re near Philadelphia, see his show of Animalia at Gallery 339. It’s up until July 5th.