Welcome to the official site of American photographer Toby Ray Vandenack – Featuring black and white film photography from Paris to Route 66.
Paris Louvre, gelatin silver print from the Paris by Bike series ©2002 Toby Ray Vandenack

From Paris to Route 66:  Celebrating Fifty-Years of Photography

“I was sixteen when I developed my first photographs in the darkroom—a magical experience that turned into a lifelong passion” 

Toby Vandenack’s photographs of Paris are recognized around the world through art prints and posters published and sold in over sixty countries. As a budding photographer in the 1970s Toby visited Paris for the first time as a teenager on a student excursion—an experience that would shape his vision far beyond Paris.

Backpack loaded with film and medium format cameras, Toby has biked hundreds of kilometers in and around Paris including all twenty arrondissements. Many of his popular art prints are the result of his Paris by Bike treks in 1995 and 2002.

“It’s been nearly twenty-five years since I last visited Paris, but I can vividly recall the feel and sound of my Peugeot bike Rocinante clattering over the cobblestones of Montmartre and Avenue des Champs-Élysées. I’m not the only photographer to be captivated by photographing Paris, but I may have had the most fun doing it!”

Wherever your road goes, stay safe my friends. 

 

Museum Quality Gelatin Silver Prints 

Works purchased through this website are original silver gelatin prints handcrafted to museum-quality standards, signed certificate of authenticity included.

The gelatin silver photographic process dates back to the 1880’s. Most modern (non digital) black and white photographs are gelatin silver prints, which refers to light-sensitive silver halide particles suspended in a gelatin layer on high-quality paper. The light-sensitive paper is exposed to light passing through a negative. The latent image is then “developed out” by a chemical process consisting of developer, stop bath, and fixer.  A fourth chemical step, selenium toning, is completed for enhanced appearance and archival permanence of the final photograph. 

Developing black and white prints in the darkroom