©Barbara Alper Greetings

Fotofest 2000 in Houston, Texas was for me the year and place for meeting photographers, and one of these was Barbara Alper. At the time she was promoting her Sea Samba Series of underwater images which I liked very much. She also gave me a lot of tips on talking with the gallerists, editors and others to whom I would be showing my photography. Barbara lives in New York, so I have been able to keep up with her since then. Besides producing her fine-art images, Barbara is also a commercial photographer and works for a variety of companies and publications, including Barron’s, Parade, Smart Money, and The New York Times. Her 2007 Calendar for the  Brooklyn Botanic Garden has just been finished and is currently available, and most recently, she did a big fashion shoot for World Pictures News during fashion week in New York City. Soon thereafter, I visited her in her apartment on the upper West Side of Manhattan and asked her about balancing fine-art and commercial photography.

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©Barbara Alper Frog Lady

Robert Schaefer: How did you get into photography initially?

Barbara Alper:  Love is what got me into photography. I began taking pictures early, around the age of 7. I sold Christmas cards so that I could get the gift of a maroon-colored brownie box camera. I never thought of taking photographs of subjects besides family, friends, and while I was traveling. My mother used to drag a 16mm movie camera around, in addition to a still camera, and my brother had a twin lens reflex camera—so I didn't want to be left out. I wasn't conscious of the fact that my older brother had a darkroom in the basement and only learned of it a few years ago. In my teens I "graduated" to an Instamatic, and used it until I got my first "serious" camera, many years later—the Olympus OM-1. It wasn't until I had graduated from college (with a degree in Social Work), was living in Boston and became friends with other photographers, that I realized what I truly wanted to do was take pictures. I looked at what they were doing and said to myself, "I can do that." And I did. I took a basic photography class (and missed half of it to take a trip to the Ivory Coast), then a darkroom course. It all flowed. From then on, I always had a camera with me and photographed everything wherever I went. I took a box of prints up to the Creative Photo Lab at M.I.T., still headed by Minor White (though it was actually run by Peter Laytin and a couple of others). He was impressed enough to allow me to audit a course for a year in exchange for working in the department. Everything seemed to fall into place from there, and I began freelancing shortly after.

©Barbara Alper Rockaway

RS: Did your background contribute to your interest in photography?

BA:I was born in Detroit and studied Social Work at Michigan State University. When we did some video work for one of my classes, I was very excited by it and wanted to switch majors. Unfortunately, I was discouraged by everyone, including the dean of the department who didn't feel there were many opportunities for women and suggested I stay where I was. Years later I found my way to what I was truly interested in— photography.


RS: How did you decide on photojournalism as a way to support yourself?

BA: My initial interest was in making photographs for myself. But when I decided that I was going to support myself through photography, I realized that I had to start making images that would generate work. I was naturally drawn to photojournalism as opposed to advertising and so began making pictures in that genre. After a few months I brought my box of photographs to the photo editor at The Boston Phoenix, a weekly newspaper, and was given my first assignment. My work took off from there. I became their primary photographer (after the photo editor, Jerry Berndt, who was expected to do most of the work), filled in for him when he was away.  It was a great beginning, giving me experience in shooting everything from portraits to events and sports, all for very little money. But that didn't matter because the experience was invaluable. Plus, we were expected to process our own images, and turn in prints, in a rapid turnaround. I set up my own darkroom, converting the pantry next to the bathroom into a space for my enlarger and built a drop shelf over the tub for my trays.  Additionally, I enjoyed working for a weekly where there was more respect for the integrity of the image, and its artistic approach. Then I began working for Boston Magazine. It all flowed very naturally.  At about the time I was being offered a staff job, I moved to New York. 
 

©Barbara Alper Reflections

©Barbara Alper Orchid 2

RS: Tell me about that work.  

BA:  Over the years my work has evolved and expanded to include shooting food as well as orchids, gardens, fashion, style and interiors. That developed as I worked for The New York Times. For 10 years I was a regular (several times a week) freelancer for The New York Times. I photographed everything for them—except sports (too small to schlep all the heavy equipment necessary). Early in my career, I would never have imagined that I'd become the New York Times’ primary food photographer. When I'm questioned about how it is that I photograph so many different things, I explain that photography is about solving a puzzle—how to put all the various elements into the frame in a way that works. That can apply to portrait, fashion, homes, food, or people swimming with dolphins. 


RS: I know you also have another direction in your work which is geared more towards fine art. Did one of these directions come before the other?  Have they influenced each other at all?  In which realm do you feel most comfortable?
 

©Barbara Alper Orchid 1

BA: Boston was a great place to begin, and it was a good time as well. It was a small and fairly close community, where it seemed like everyone knew each other. Also, Polaroid had a very supportive program for artists. They gave out SX-70 cameras, along with tons of film, and I was told to go play. That was an incredible opportunity. I continued shooting for myself, with the SX-70, along with personal black & white images. They gave me an exhibition and acquired images for their international collection. Not a bad beginning. All this was within a few years of formally beginning to make photos. I've continued with both aspects of my career, with one taking precedence over the other at various times.

The first serious personal project I pursued while freelancing was "Rockaway Beach," shot in infrared. I spent about 10 years working on it. That was also the beginning of the more extensive work I've done in the water and my series, "Sea Samba." At the same time, I was invited to photograph in sex clubs and at parties, which turned into another long-term project. These two series overlapped during the 80's and into the 90's.

At times I've described it as a split personality, but in fact my work represents my varied interests, issues, and concerns. When the Gulf War began in '91, I set up my camera in front of the television and photographed French news, selected because of its English subtitles, on a daily basis. After a couple of weeks, I realized what I was recording and looked for more specific images. I then edited it into a commentary on war and the news/networks interpretation and presentation of it to the public. It was very well received in Europe, first exhibited at FNAC in France before it became part of an exhibition, "Warworks,"  at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Here in the U.S. it was exhibited at Lehigh University.

I enjoy both freelancing and personal projects. I can't really say that I'm more comfortable in one area over the other, though I wouldn't mind having more time and freedom to spend in the sea or photographing orchids, and doing them on assignment is great.

©Barbara Alper Mimic

RS: What or who has influenced your work? 

BA: I've always been inspired by Cartier-Bresson for his incredible timing and Robert Doisneau for his humor, Arnold Newman's portraits, Weston's nudes, Brassai, and Weegee, to name a few. Initially I was drawn to Diane Arbus' work.
 

RS: What have been some of the most important moments of your career?

BA: Discovering new projects that excite me. Showing at the Victoria & Albert Museum was certainly a high point, as was having my exhibition "Sea Samba" projected at Arles (summer 2005) before having it shown at FNAC in Paris. Getting a phone call one afternoon and hearing Sam Wagstaff on the other end, asking to see my work. Discovering the magic world of the sea, swimming and photographing in the wild, watching how other species behave in their natural environment. Being included in major collections around the world. 


RS: Where is your work headed in the future?

BA: I'd like to have more time to work on personal projects. I'd also like to find a publisher for my underwater series, Sea Samba. I've enjoyed doing workshops and presentations around the world and would like to do more.

To view more of Barbara Alper's work, visit www.barbaraalper.com

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Robert A. Schaefer, Jr. is a founding member of Photoworkshop.com, and has been a fine-art photographer for over 30 years. His work is displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as well as the Bibliothéque Nationale in Paris, France. In 1999—2000 he had a 25-year retrospective of his work at the Huntsville Museum of Art in Huntsville, Alabama, his home state. His exhibition, Two Sides of the Coin—which deals with his German family and the Holocaust—was held at the DeFrog Gallery in Houston, TX in March, April and May as a part of Fotofest. He is currently working on a documentary film about this project  and was just ask to have a one person exhibition at the Mongomery Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, AL his home state in 2007. Schaefer writes about photography for Double Exposure, Fotophile Magazine in New York City and The Photo Review in Pennsylvania. He has taught at The New School and given workshops at Pratt Institute in New York and is currently on the faculty at New York University.
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You can contact Robert Schaefer at rasjrpro@earthlink.net or visit his website at www.schaeferphoto.com.

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