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 It
has been argued that photography is not really an art form.
The case is made that photographs record an image, rather
than creatively interpret and express the visual in an artistic
way. But this case is ignorant of what it takes to make a
successful image in photography or in painting, such as value
contrast, color harmony, composition, texture, line, shape,
rhythm, unity, etc. It is also ignorant of the artist photographer’s
ability to see what is there and to capture it in a form that
is compelling, vivid, provocative and/ or beau tiful. Awareness,
therefore, of the visual elements, composition and the myriad
of photographic techniques would inevitably lead one to appreciate
photography as an art and the argument would be resolved.
So I am not going to spend the entirety of this article validating
Norman E. Mayor’s color photographs: they stand on their
own as successful and deliciously compelling images, which
exhibit Mayor’s artistic eye for color, light, composition,
rich texture and detail. Rather, I
am going to focus the content of this article on his story
of becoming a photographer and on the creative offspring of
his new life.
In 1992 Mayor, a husband of 30 plus years and father to two
grown children, had a serious heart attack. He had spent his
career as kitchen cabinet salesman and installer. Mayor made
a healthy recovery, but his doctor recommended he take it
easy. For Mayor this meant returning to work and taking it
easy in his heavy lifting and installing, and to the doctor
this meant finding a new way of life. At any rate, Mayor returned
to work with a smaller contract load, working shorter hours.
In 1994, Mayor’s doctor recommended he look into claiming
Social Security disability. Although going on to disability
would mean cutting his annual salary in more than half, the
idea that he could retire and do some of the traveling he
always wanted to do sounded really appealing. In 1995, Mayor
retired and he took over ownership of a VW truck that he had
invested in with his son. He wanted to travel and see the
U.S. He longed to explore Route 66, which he had ridden on
in the Army in 1961.
 With
his truck, a sleeping bag, a $19.95 camera, and twenty rolls
of 200-speed film he headed west on Route 66. Upon returning
home and getting his pictures processed, he was unhappy with
his prints, and felt they did not do justice to what he had
witnessed in his travels. Mayor then purchased a medium priced,
35mm Yashika camera and enrolled in a photography workshop
at his local college.
In the meantime, Mayor and his wife no longer saw eye to eye
in their sudden lifestyle change. Mayor felt like he had narrowly
escaped death and he wanted to savor life by traveling to
the destinations he had always wanted to see and record the
wonder, spectacle, and beauty through color photography. His
wife did not share this same passion, so they divorced.
In 1997, he enrolled tuition-free into the photography program
at his local community college in Baltimore. His goal was
to take the best hand-held, 35mm, color shot possible. He
completed all the photography classes and workshops they offered,
including several classes in black and white photography,
color photography, indoor lighting, portraiture, and commercial
photography.
Mayor currently lives here in Moab and continues his passion
for travel and photography. He is close to completing his
Associates Degree on-line. His apartment is filled with the
tools of his craft: his living room is a gallery of framed
prints and the archive of his numerous works and adventures.
His bedroom doubles as a developing lab and studio.
 Looking
through Mayor’s gallery and archive of prints I was
impressed with the range of subject matter and the diversity
to his work. I was especially struck by two examples "Poppies
from the Ground" and "Lobster Buoys". "Poppies
from the Ground", taken from an unusual vantage point,
is an image that is virtually abstracted by the close proximity
of the subject matter and the angle at which the picture is
taken. The line of the shaded green stem draws the viewer’s
attention right into the center of the composition. The sharply
defined veins of the poppy add contour lines, which draw the
eye delicately across the surface of the petals. Even though
the central and dominant flower is white, the saturated, primary
hues of blue, red and yellow bring this image into exquisite
color harmony. The colors appear to explode from the print’s
surface.
 In
comparison is the photograph entitled "Lobster Buoys",
which shows bright red lobster buoys hanging in a window in
the left half of the composition. The buoys create a visual
rhythm that is contrasted to the repetitive lines of the wall
siding. The red of the buoys also emphasizes its complimentary
color, green, in the tints and shadows of peeling paint in
the surrounding space. In addition, the clarity of the competing
textures-- including the crackled paint in the upper left
corner, the smooth plasticity of the buoys, the flaking paint
in the center of the wall and the grain of the wood on the
window frame and the door,-- make this photograph a sensual
delight.
I tried to pinpoint a central theme to Mayor’s work
and decided his focus was on color and light, rather than
being about landscapes or water scenes. He replied that many
people have tried to put him in a niche, but that he loves
a huge range of subjects and he does not limit his art in
this way. It dawned on me later, thinking about all that he
told me, that his goal of taking the best possible hand-held,
35mm color photograph is the axis in which his photography
revolves. Being able to take great photographs with a 35mm
camera allows him unparalleled freedom and flexibility when
it comes to travel and adventure. Although 35mm cameras have
drawbacks, as far as enlarging detail and crispness are concerned,
he has fewer restrictions on what he can take and where because
of the weight and the compactness of the 35mm camera. In this
way, his traveling and photographing are inextricably linked
into one endeavor of experiencing and capturing "America
the Beautiful."
Mayor’s fine art prints are for sale in a range of standard
sizes. He offers them matted at very reasonable prices. He
also offers custom enlarging and instructional classes in
35mm photography. Contact Norman E. Mayor at 259-1573
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