David Stern

Nothing gives me more satisfaction than ‘thinking photographically.' I am most in touch with my soul while taking pictures. Nature and landscape scenes are primarily what I photograph. The relationship of light, color and composition fascinates me; however, I find I'm currently emphasizing color more than any other element in my work. I'll frequently experiment with my photographic tools to push myself to create images that I feel ‘drip' with a rich interplay of color. While making an image, I've learned to increasingly trust that small voice inside of me when it starts to shout, "you've got it!" I especially enjoy the vibrant colors I can achieve with my work when I print it onto ceramic tile. The image is first printed onto dye transfer paper from a scanned negative. Then the dyes on the paper are heated in a hot-press onto a ceramic tile that has been coated with a polymer surface. The dyes come off of the dye-transfer paper and blend into the polymer coating. I use UV-treated, dye-sublimation inks for this process – it give the tiles a unique, rich look – very different than printing the image on glossy or watercolor paper.