PrintPaul Roark
EnlargePaul Roark is often compared to Ansel Adams, but the true inspiration behind his dramatic landscape photography is, in fact, a painter: “Rembrandt’s use of light is the best,” Roark proclaims. “The eye dances from one part of the picture to another.” Fueled by his desire to capture Rembrandt’s spectrum of light and frustrated by the lack of dynamic range produced in conventional photographic ink jet printing, Roark designed a new printer cartridge that uses 100 percent carbon ink. Roark’s invention revolutionized printing for digital photography and is hailed around the world as superior in archival quality to the silver printing method used by Adams.
In Zion Narrows, Roark takes advantage of carbon printing’s enhanced value scale to emphasize the movement of the water and the texture of the cliff walls. Skipping from one highlighted area to another, the viewer’s eyes finally rest on the river as it bends beyond view. But Roark’s goal is not to simply play with light and shadow, he wants his work to have impact at a distance. “There has to be something that captures the viewers’ attention from across the room,” he says. “Something that keeps the viewer interested in the photo as long as possible.”
Roark’s unique compositional sense is a practiced art. Criticizing “careless hand-held shooting,” he mounts his camera on a tripod, carefully frames the shot, and snaps once. An avid hiker, he travels throughout the West capturing images that express its diversity and beauty. “What I do,” Roark confesses, “I do for the love of the art, the medium, and the places.”
Issue: October 2010
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