Reid Huntley- Biography

I. Artist's Statement:

In a split second of vision, what the eyes say is beautiful or interesting, that is what I try to capture in a photograph. The brain computes the signal: "this is something good." It may be attractive or ugly, a composition of three similar objects, or a stark contrast between foreground and background. I then try to get just what the eyes signaled was photo-worthy. This idea of what to shoot is similar to what Flaubert, the French novelist, called le mot juste (the exact word). By that he meant: write down the literary image in the exact words in which the original inspiration was clothed in coming from the brain. Transposed to photography, that means the exact image, with bounderies and depth.

I also try empirically and analytically to shape the scene or view: recasting distance, angle, or lighting. But often, at least for me, the results are inferior to the original visual impression: with its own boundaries, angle, and light effects. As poet and illustrator William Blake wrote: " When you see with, not thro', the Eye," then what the eyes grasp as beautiful, that is Beauty. I now experiment wildly, with ANY interesting subject: the challenged people, risky precipice shots, the plain and ordinary events of life--but seen from a unique angle, or analytically composed.

I am not new to visual image-making, although I have made my living with words. I have been an English professor and writer for forty years. But I have had cameras for over fifty years: Kodak Pony, Zeiss-Icon Contaflex, Nikons for decades.

A twelfth birthday gift of six Classics Illustrated comic books got me started toward great literature; then that interest blossomed via Modern Library Editions of good stories which I had seen in the Classics Illustrated comic books. I now see the comic books linked the power of words with the power of visual images. I am now using visual images in combination with words in my own stories and poems, in my End-of-the-Year Letter and other letters, and as gifts to friends and clients. --Reid Huntley

II. Education:
Myers Park High School (Charlotte, North Carolina), 1953.
Duke University, A.B. in History, 1957.
Maximilian University, Munich, Germany (Junior College Year).
Yale Divinity School, B.D. and M.Div., 1961.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, M.A. (1966) and Ph.D. in English (1969.)

III. Work Experience:
- Danforth Foundation Campus Minister Intern, University of Denver, 1959-1960.
- Presbyterian Campus Minister, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1961-1964.
- Part-Time Instructor, English Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1966-1968.
- English Professor, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, l968 - 2005.
- Fulbright Visiting Professor, University of Madras, Madras, India, 1975-1976.
- Visiting Professor, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa, fall 1983.
- Faculty, Chautauqua Summer School, Chautauqua, New York, summer 1985.
- Writer-in-Residence, the Writers' Center, Chautauqua, New York, August 1993.
- Photography, a life-long hobby, now an independent business.

IV. Exhibitions:
* independent solo exhibition
- Bacchus Bistro, Columbus, Ohio, 1995.*
- Casa Nueva, Athens, Ohio, 1996. *
- Upper Arlington Library, Columbus, Ohio, 1997. *
- Lancaster / Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce, 1997.
- The French Loaf, Columbus, Ohio, 1997. *
- Artistically Bent Gallery, Short North, Columbus, Ohio, 1998.
- Barn Raisin' Festival, Athens, Ohio, 1999.
- Anna's Express, Columbus, Ohio, 1999. *
- Upper Arlington Library, Columbus, Ohio, 2000.*
- Upper Arlington Munincipal Center (Joint Exhibition of U.A.
..Photographic Society with St. Andrews, Scotland, Photography
..Society), Columbus, Ohio, 2001.
- Strada's, Columbus, Ohio, 2001. *
- Artistically Bent Gallery, Short North, Columbus, Ohio, 2001. *
- Ohio State University Faculty Club, Columbus, Ohio, 2001-2007.
- Chautauqua Center of Visual Arts, Chautauqua, NY, 2003.
- Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, Columbus, Ohio, 2004, and 2006.
- Upper Arlington Library, Columbus, Ohio, 2004.
- Upper Arlington Cultural Arts; Caspian II, 2007.

V. Studied With:
- Charles Scott, Photo-journalist, Athens, Ohio, 1980.
- Jack Ledbetter, Northeast Harbor, Acadia National Park, Maine, 1997.
- Dan Williams, African-American Photographer, Athens, Ohio, 1998
- Paul McPherson, Cord Camera University, Columbus, Ohio, 2002.
- Randal Levenson, Lakeside, Ohio, 2007.

VI. Recent Commissions:
- River Valley Community School, Athens, Ohio, 1998.
- Ah, Jackie!: Her Father's Story (Pre-Broadway Play), Lancaster, Ohio, 2001.
- Short North Mardi Gras Costume Ball, Short North Mardi Gras Gallery Hop, Columbus, Ohio, 2001.
- Wellington Academy Arts Festival and Art Auction, Columbus, Ohio, 2001 .
- Home Remodeler's Showcase of Homes in Columbus, Ohio, 2001 - present.
- Spring Literary Festival, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 2001 - 2005.
- Cover for music CD for Allen Jackson, Bahai Troubadour, 2004.
- Cover for music CD for Carver Blanchard, Lutist, 2004.

VII. Memberships:
- Ohio State University Faculty and Staff Photographic Society, Columbus, Ohio.
- Upper Arlington Photographic Society, Columbus, Ohio.
- Thomas Wolfe Society, Asheville, N.C.
- Danforth Associates of Ohio, Columbus.
- Carl.G. Jung Society of Central Ohio.
- Columbus Association of Psychological Type (M.B.T.I.)