World Photographer Displays Photos at Benefit for Clinica de Rehabilitation Santa Barbara
 Twila Crawford - PVNN
| | Photos by world photographer Robert Stahman, shown here with wife, Sandra, will be on display at the Clinica de Rehabilitation Santa Barbara benefits by New York performers Dana and Mark Zeller at the Cathy von Rohr Galeria-Studio next month. | | |
World photographer Robert Stahman, with 60 years of photographic experience, will display photos of the Clinica de Rehabilitation Santa Barbara and some of the patients at the fundraiser for the clinic by New York performers Dana and Mark Zeller, March 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 6:30 pm at Cathy von Rohr Galeria-Studio, Manuel M. Dieguez 321, on the south side of Vallarta.
Besides photographing the beauty of Puerto Vallarta and its people, the artist is prolific in the areas of fine art, fashion, industry, architecture, commercial, and travel photographs. Some of his fine art photographs feature the female form. As a New Yorker, Stahman captured images from the Statue of Liberty framed by the World Trade Center Towers at sundown (1983) and of Trump Tower (1982). As a world traveler with his work, the artist photographed landscapes, people, buildings and cultural objects in countries in Europe, Israel, Japan, Kenya and the Netherlands.
Stahman explains, "I experimented with printing techniques such as layering of negatives and double or triple exposures to create dynamic fine art compositions." He points out he "worked with focus and color to effect a painterly style, best expressed in my Paris compositions."
At age 13, the photographer says, "I received a Box Brownie camera, courtesy of a Kodak give-away campaign." That was the start of his life´s work. Following enlisted service in the U.S. Army during World War II, Stahman attended the School of Modern Photography in New York City. Obtaining priceless experience, he then worked as a darkroom assistant for Toni Frissell, whose photographs appeared in Vogue magazine. He also worked with fashion photographer Fernand Fonssagrives in the 1940´s. Stahman saw the future of television and joined CBS as a staff photographer for television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jackie Gleason Show.
In the 1960´s, with a congenital eye condition, Stahman turned to architecture photography, as he says, "using telescopic lens and magnifying glasses." After six eye surgeries, he says, "I began photography for corporations and organizations around the world." While in Spain, he completed a freelance project for ABC television with photographs documenting the making of the film "Hemingway´s Spain."
While spending several months in Puerto Vallarta for the past 10 years with his wife, Sandra, and their toy poodle, Koki, Stahman grew to love and photograph this place and its people.
Robert expresses his feelings, "As I traveled on assignment, I had the opportunity to experience the dedication of many cultures to care of children, love of family, and devotion to religion. It frequently struck me how similar are our needs, our dreams, and our search for creative, artistic and spiritual meaning. In my work, I try to show the positive aspects of human nature as a vehicle for understanding and communication. The major theme of my work is the essence of being human."
Tickets for the fundraiser for Clinica de Rehabilitation Santa Barbara are $250 pesos ($25 USD) and can be purchased by calling Dana Zeller-Alexis (322) 223-2697 or emailing dana78st(at)sbcgoal.net.
 An award-winning journalist, Twila Crawford lives in Puerto Vallarta, where, in addition to contributing articles to the Vallarta Tribune and other local and international publications, she writes Out and About in Puerto Vallarta, a weekly column that offers inside information about who, what, why, where and when it's happening around Banderas Bay.
Click HERE to read more of Twila's "Out and About" articles |
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