Barry Page

"My camera NEVER goes anywhere without me!" This is the motto by which Barry approaches his art and the standard response to anyone who asks him "What are you doing with that camera?"

He was given a “toy” camera in 1962, at age 5. It was a simple plastic camera that took a small roll of black and white film, which had to be sent away for processing, but the seed of a lifelong passion was planted. At twelve, he regularly commandeered his father’s Kodak Retina III to document local school sporting events, field trips and dances. He also learned how to process and print black and white photographs using his father’s slide projector which was mounted on the wall and controlling the exposure of the paper by time alone. Later on, he acquired propper darkroom equipment and has, over the years, constructed 4 darkooms where he processed and printed not only black and white but also color (C41 process) and color from transparency (Cibachrome process) as well.

While studying at the University of Cape Town, his interest in photography grew and he purchased his first SLR – a second hand Canon FT QL camera followed a couple of years later by a medium format Hasselblad 500CM. During this time he discovered the world of amateur camera clubs and became a member of the UCT camera society. It was during this period that he developed his love for photo-graphing people. He also started to freelance doing weddings and on occasion working with a designer at Foschini, the Cape Town fashion house to document her creations.

He was an active member of the Photographic Society of South Africa being an active member of the Sasol Photography Society and the Vanderbijlpark Camera club. He attended the annual week long Photography Congress held at various locations in South Africa. He has had numerous works accepted in both local and international salons. He completed numerous photography and darkroom courses at PhotoTeach in Johannesburg and represented PhotoTeach at trade shows.

Since moving to the USA, he has been actively involved in various photography clubs from Florida to Maryland and is a freelance photographer for the LifeTouch Sports Department Together with his partner (in crime) Bill Wesfield†, he has regularly participated in many successful exhibitions.

Barry's photographic passion has always been photographing people. While he does do other work too, as you will see by looking at his galleries, he is most at home photographing people. Whether it be documenting the trials and tribulations of everyday life in the photo journalism genre around Baltimore or photographing a rock band in a dimly lit club, Barry always tries to capture the "essence" of the moment. Barry is equally at home working with models in the studio, next to the sports field, in a club or banquet hall or on city streets.