Barton Cooley Photography
Street Photography
His Story
Barton Cooley was born in Pomona California into a family of artists. At age nine he moved with his father to live in Madrid Spain for four years which richly influenced him for the rest of his life. He studied Mechanical Engineering in New York city at Manhattan College and then later in Southern California at CSUN in Northridge and later at USC. He stared his 24 year engineering career at Rocketdyne testing and analyzing liquid rocket engines followed by the International space station testing and assembly. Throughout his career as a Mechanical Engineer he has used a camera to document the projects and tests. As a self taught photographer, he has studied with Alex Webb, Constantine Manos, Matt Stewart, Stella Johnson and Arthur Meyerson
Photographing Life
I first discovered my love for photography at the age of ten when my Mother showed me how to use her camera. We had just arrived in Granada Spain on the crowded all night train from Madrid. Groggy, I climbed the hill to the magnificent Palace of the Alhambra where its sheer beauty and power transformed me. Soon I was lying on the floor in order to shoot the intricately carved ceilings. My deep desire was to capture this place, this moment, some piece of the emotion and excitement that I felt being surrounded by such beauty. I still feel that excitement and intensity today when I come upon a scene that is begging to be photographed. It is then that I also learned the elusive nature of capturing a poignant image. Although the camera is not difficult to master. Seeing the potential for a photograph in a street scene however is an incredible challenge. Learning to "see", for me, has been about learning to accept a long string of failures before finding that rare gem. When I photograph I am required of slow down and heighten all my senses in order to see, perceive and anticipate the image, in order to make the image. The act of photographing life as it happens and creating something that has never been seen and will never be seen again has driven my passion to pursue this art.
Passing on the Story
Currently looking to show my work at galleries and photography exhibitions. At present, I am selecting and sequencing color street images for a photo book of portraits and street photography images.
