Loren Nelson
Using a Deardorff 4X5 view camera and a traditional darkroom to produce selenium-toned silver gelatin prints, Loren Nelson began photographing the Pacific Northwest in 1972 and has continued to do so over a long career. In recent years, Nelson has also included a digital camera and an iPhone to respond more spontaneously to his surroundings. He prints his images on fine-art papers with archival pigment inks in addition to traditional darkroom processes.
Loren Nelson’s photographs are in numerous public and private collections, including the Portland Art Museum; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art; Salem, Oregon; and the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts; Tampa, FL. He is represented by the Portland Art Museum/Rental Sales Gallery in Portland, OR and LightBox Photographic Gallery in Astoria, OR. His work has been published in View Camera, LensWork, B&W, Shots, and Analog Forever magazines.
Nelson has written: “Rather than go out looking for photographs, I put myself in places where I’m more likely to be invited to photograph. And after which I always express gratitude and thanks. I feel that this slows me down, and in a more zen-like and contemplative state, I am much more able to make photographs that satisfy me.”
One of Nelson’s favorite quotations on photography comes from Minor White who said, “No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen.”
