Toby Ray Vandenack is an American photographer best known for his black and white images of New York and Paris. Born in Wisconsin in 1958, he became involved in photography at the age of sixteen making photographs for the school newspaper and yearbook while attending high school in Green Bay in the 1970’s: “Mr. Otto was a nurturing teacher who encouraged me to pursue photography beyond high school–I promised him that I would continue the journey.”
Vandenack’s work has since been widely published and is included in collections throughout the world. He has received numerous awards for his photography, including master print competition from the Professional Photographers of America. “Intensity of vision” are among words used to describe Vandenack’s photographic style in a Retrospective Exhibit statement by Susan Talbot Stanaway, Art Historian and Curator of Art: “Vandenack presents fresh, evocative, and tactile views that are, as well, beautifully crafted.”
Exploring Abstract Expressionism in Photography: Toby Vandenack began experimenting with non-traditional application of photographic chemicals in the 1980’s. By random/selective dripping, splashing and pouring of photographic chemicals during the development process, he obtained abstract-esque resulting images. At the time, Vandenack had mixed reactions about the “drip/splash” photos and the series took a hiatus due to other priorities, publishing agreements among them. He revisited the series during COVID-19 and began seeing the results through more purposeful eyes than he had before. It also provided an opportunity to revisit his vast archive of negatives, many of which had never been printed.
In a digital world Vandenack embraces technological advances in photography, yet remains committed to his traditional black and white film roots: “Digital imaging and tools like Photoshop are amazing, but to me, there’s something therapeutic about bringing life back to a negative by printing and developing it in the darkroom,” Vandenack remarks. “I had printed some 1880’s vintage glass plate negatives for a museum a few years back. As I watched those images appear in the developer tray, it felt as though my darkroom had transformed into a Time Machine; developing prints still evoked a magical feeling, even after all these years!” Toby Vandenack is recognized as a master printer still practicing, and occasionally teaching, the gelatin silver photographic process today:
Gelatin silver printing has been the primary black and white process since its development in the late 1880’s and consists of three layers—paper, baryta, and gelatin—on which an image is produced. The paper essentially serves as a base, with the baryta layer (a surface preparation of barium sulfate) sitting on top to separate the image-containing gelatin layer from the paper support. The gelatin layer is made up of an emulsion that consists of light-sensitive silver compounds that form the image following exposure of the negative and development in a chemical bath. Another distinguishing feature is the smooth, even image surface. Photographers often use additional chemicals on gelatin silver prints in order to alter the range of tone and make the print more permanent.
–The Art Institute of Chicago
Photography and the Spirit of Rock and Roll – Not Fade Away
A friend sent this photo of my alter ego “Toby Ray Van” playing for a fundraiser at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay (2014). The historic Riverside was one of the last venues for the fateful Winter Dance Party Tour. That event played when I was just an infant, February 1, 1959, two days before the plane crash in which Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper perished near Clear Lake, Iowa; forever remembered as The Day The Music Died. Hopelessly nostalgic, I felt a special vibe playing on the same stage that Buddy Holly had played, over fifty-years after his death.
I never gave it much thought in my younger days, but I’m now grateful to have had both photography and music in my life since I was a teenager. I’m not exactly sure what one has to do with the other, but I do know, they both come from the soul and have influenced the way I see this world through the lens of a camera;
Not Fade Away…
