Photographs taken by 82-year-old Warner White in southern Europe. White’s pictures will be on display throughout the month of February at the West Long Branch Public Library. WEST LONG BRANCH – Warner White has been photographing architecture and landscapes from around the world for the past six decades.
His passion for photography began more than 65 years ago when he was in high school, and the 82-year-old Fair Haven resident said he still enjoys the hobby today.
White said that over the course of many years, he has witnessed numerous technological advances in photography, but that for the most part, his technique and style have remained unchanged.
“Photography is much easier [today] because so much of it is automatic, and the camera’s parts have improved so much that you can trust them now,” White said.
“Before automatic cameras, you would have to measure how much light was in a shot and then set the shutter and aperture by hand with an extra instrument, or simply guess.
“Now the camera does that automatically, but if you want to do it, you still can,” White said.
Photographers debate the use of the automatic features on today’s digital cameras, according to White, who said he sometimes resorts to old-fashioned ways when taking pictures.
“I am satisfied with the way the automatic works, but I set the aperture to get the depth and focus I want,” White said.
In today’s day and age, viewing and printing photographs has become simple and accessible, White said.
He quickly added that his greatest joy is working in a darkroom and developing the pictures by hand.
“Photography certainly has changed with digital cameras coming in,” he said. “It makes it more accessible to people.”
The camera White relies on is “just a simple digital one like most people use,” he said.
White has selected a collection of his work to be display throughout the month of February at the West Long Branch Library on Broadway. The exhibit is part of the library’s monthly art exhibit program.
“I am very proud of my work and I look forward to displaying it at the library,” White said.
The exhibit on display is called “Sunny Southern Europe” and features photographs of architecture and landscapes throughout southern France, Spain and Italy.
White said he has collected thousands of pictures from his years of pursuing his hobby of photography, and he has saved many of the photos in old shoeboxes.
Today, though, he said he does enjoy being able to view his work on the computer and says that saving the pictures electronically is “much more convenient” than stashing them in a shoebox.
To prepare for the exhibit, White said he went through his collection of photos taken over the course of some 60 years and selected the ones that fit a southern European theme.
White said he is proud of the pictures he chose to display. The pictures capture the scenery he experienced while traveling in southern Spain.
“[It] was the most breathtaking place to photograph,” White said.
Some of his favorite photos came from the area of southern Spain conquered by the Moors in the Middle Ages.
White spent time photographing the castles and garrisons the Moors constructed following their conquest of the area. He also took pictures of smaller sun-bleached villages in the mountainous region.
The library hosted an artist’s reception for White on Feb. 3, and David Lisa, director of the West Long Branch Library, said he is excited to hang White’s work in the library throughout the month of February.
“The photos are great, nice and detailed,” Lisa said about the exhibit.
White said he is honored to have his work on display at the library, but having his photography recognized is not something new for the local resident.
The photographs chosen for the West Long Branch exhibit were also displayed at the Guild of Creative Art. One of the photos White took while in Spain, his favorite of the collection, won first prize in the color division at the Guild’s 2006 Juried Photographic Show.
The Guild is a group of artists who gather in Shrewsbury each month and who have exhibits for various types of art, according to White.
An Ohio native, White said his love of photography started when he was a teenager. While in high school, White constructed a small darkroom as a hobby and began submitting photos to a local county fair, where he won several ribbons for his work.
After high school, White was drafted into the Army as a combat infantryman and was deployed to the European theater during World War II. Following the armistice, White served as part of the Army of Occupation along the American- Russian border in Czechoslovakia.
While in Czechoslovakia, his love for photography was rekindled, White said.
“I bought a camera in Czechoslovakia and took a few pictures after the war was over,” White said, adding, “I still have them.”
After serving in the military for two years, White returned to the United States. He went on to study electrical engineering at Oberlin College and the University of Michigan.
After completing college, White returned to Europe for two months with two cameras and began photographing images of Oberammergau, Germany, the Rhine Valley, and Paris.
“When I went to Europe after college, I was using a speed graphic camera, which was called a mini-camera but was still pretty heavy to carry around,” White said.
Today, he said, he finds it much easier to travel with the compact digital cameras.
At the age of 63, White retired from Bell Laboratories and began practicing photography again on a more serious basis.
He began studying with Laury Egan, a private photography teacher, with whom he meets once a month along with five other students.
“She gives us a different subject to photograph each month,” White said, adding that the lessons he learns motivates him to take pictures of subjects he might not ordinarily photograph.
“I have taken pictures of the Twin Beams of Light and I did a study of Thompson Park with other members of the class,” he said. “I took a picture of the park’s visitors center that has since burned down
“We meet in a different member’s home each month and critique each other’s photos,” he added.
White is also a member of the Monmouth County Camera Club, a group of people from the surrounding area who are interested in photography.
For more information on White’s exhibit, call the West Long Branch Library at (732) 222-5339.