Quote of the Week by Christopher Burkett

“The things that I’m trying to present in my photography are things that are absolutely real in the world, subtle qualities that many people don’t see.” —Christopher Burkett (1951)

Christopher Burkett was born in 1951 and was reared in the Pacific Northwest. In 1975, while he was a brother in a Christian order, he became interested in photography as a means of expressing the grace, light and beauty he saw present in the world of nature. Over the next twenty years, he gradually perfected his craft so photography could be the means through which he could express his innermost feelings and inspiration. Today he works almost exclusively with colour 8 x 10-inch transparencies. In 1979, Burkett left the brotherhood to pursue photography and married his wife, Ruth. He learned the offset printing process and ran four-colour printing presses and laser scanners to create detailed colour separations. These years of experience in the printing trade helped develop his fine discernment of colour and gave him a deep understanding of the principles of colour and tone reproduction. Today, Burkett travels extensively throughout the United States to photograph.  Burkett also has taught several workshops sponsored by the Friends of Photography and Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Burkett is a recognised national expert in printing Cibachrome (Ilfochrome), by virtue of his use of sophisticated and unique masking techniques. He meticulously hand prints his 8 x 10″ transparencies to 20 x 24″, 30 x 40″, and 40 x 50″, with impressive sharpness and rich tonality.