Troost Fine Art Photography

Original photographs by Neil D. Troost.
Capturing the essence of the Maine and New Hampshire coasts, New England, and beyond.

Bio/History:

Neil has been taking pictures since childhood. Experimenting early on with a variety of inexpensive and hand-me-down cameras, it was quite some time before he was able to regularly use a 35mm SLR.

Neil grew up in the beautiful village of Cape Porpoise, Maine. With other influences from various travels, and from his father, who was an avid and accomplished amateur photographer, and other family friends, he first considered the possibility of being a professional photographer when he was 17.

With a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from UNH in 1983, it was many years before he finally began his photography career in 1991. Now, since pursuing photography full time since 1993, he is proud of the ever expanding portfolio he has created and the resulting success he has enjoyed. Many of the highlights of that portfolio are contained here in this website, with many more to be added on a regular basis.

After “paying his dues” for several years by working occasionally doing portraits and weddings, by the late 90’s Neil was able to devote his energy completely to his passion of landscape and scenic photography. He now devotes 100% of his time to the pursuit of his landscape, scenic and fine art photography.

Beginning the conversion from traditional darkroom production to digital fine art printing in 1999, the challenges of the digital darkroom were gradually overcome. Today his portfolio contains some of the finest archival digital fine art prints or Giclée prints available.

Philosophy:

Photographs should capture the essence of the scene or object photographed, and in virtually every photograph I have taken, I have depended on the natural or existing light to illuminate the subject. I occasionally employ the use of UV filters and polarizing lenses to reduce glare for example, but frequently shoot without them too. I like to find scenes and shoot them as I find them, and I also try to capture them from a unique or seldom seen perspective.

The composition of an image needs to complement a scene in a way that tells a story or conveys a mood or message. A scene typically has four dimensions. There are the three physical dimensions and the "fourth dimension" of time which is typically an integral part of our observation of a scene or subject. Separating our visual recollections from the physical dimensions is difficult to do. By capturing a scene in an “instant” in time, a photograph separates the three dimensions from time and in the process also converts the three dimensions of the scene or subject to the two dimensions of the film. Careful composition should ensure a scene’s message or mood is retained, and in the best images, should even complement and enhance the scene. The composition should ensure that the elimination of the two “lost” dimensions is reduced or even eliminated.

Appropriate film selection, combined with a well chosen lens, the aperture and shutter speed, and the actual scene composition and lighting, all contribute significantly to the final image appearance. A number of other factors directly affect the success of an image. Other important considerations include natural conditions, such as the wind, humidity, temperature, and locally, such elements as the tide’s ebb and flow. While the appreciation of each image is subjective, the objective decisions which contribute to a successful image are of paramount importance.

When I like an image well enough to include it in my portfolio, the true measure of an image’s success is in the resulting emotional response an image evokes in the individual who is looking at it. If an image speaks to you, reminding you of a time or place, or imparts the image’s intended mood to you, then it is a “successful” image.

The printing of an image and the processes involved in achieving a quality print is of equal importance to the image composition. Today’s digital tools offer more options, better quality and improved longevity over traditional darkroom printing, and is also a more environmentally sound way to print photographs.

I have only very recently, in 2007, begun offering a few prints taken with a digital camera. Most are still recorded originally on a variety of film options, and scanned with one of two film scanners. The image file is then prepared for printing, generally using as few steps as possible withing Adobe Photoshop. Since hte original image is captured in natural or existing light, I make every effort to only apply traditional darkroom tyoes of techniques to the image file. I do do not enhance or manipulate the image, but only make the file ready for printing. Colors are as close as practical to those captured by the camera within a very small margin to allow a small window of creative opportunity on the occassional image; otherwise colors are real and accurate.

To achieve the highest quality print possible, I use the finest archival inks and papers and offer a final presentation utilizing conservation framing techniques. This will provide you with an image of heirloom quality, and will ensure you have many years of enjoyment from all of the images you select from Troost Fine Art Photography.