/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

Freiss puts cross-section of photo styles on display

Image courtesy of Chuck Freiss Photography by Chuck Freiss of Marshall is on display at the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council’s gallery in downtown Marshall through Oct. 27.

MARSHALL — When he got a digital camera a couple of years ago, Chuck Freiss of Marshall was a little unsure.

“It sat for six months before I touched it,” he said. According to a news release from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, “although learning about digital cameras and computer software was worrisome, (he said) ‘I dove in (thanks to YouTube).'”

Freiss’ photography exhibit will be on display through Oct. 27 at the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council’s gallery in downtown Marshall. An artist reception will be from 5-7 p.m. today, with music by Kindred Spirits from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

This activity is funded, in part, by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund and its arts and cultural heritage fund that was created by vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008.

How Freiss got involved in photography stemmed from the time he and a couple of friends in the early 1980s went out and took photographs around the area. He didn’t have a camera, so he borrowed one. The group ended up in different towns, he said. After looking at the prints, he liked what he was seeing. Freiss ended up getting his own camera and gear. He studied the basics of photography at Southwest State University with Henry Kyllingstad, mainly using black and white film.

“I learned all the aspects,” Freiss said. “I stayed in black and white for a good four years.”

He went on to color transparency, slide film. Then his son was born in 1992, and his 35mm camera was replaced with a video camera.

“It stayed that way for 18 years,” he said. He dug out his 35mm camera at his son’s graduation.

When he got into digital photography, Freiss said he also got some of the basics from his brother, who had worked with digital photography for a few years. He took his first digital photos while he was at the North Shore.

Picasso was the first image software Freiss used. He said it was designed for jpeg type images, and he used it for a couple of months before changing to a raw image.

“A raw image will retain a larger amount of detail, thus a better print,” he said.

He uses Topaz labs software, which comes with 18 different adjustment programs. He said that within each program there are 10 to 20 or more adjustments that can be made.

“I like to edit my image with an adjustment I like, then using a mask, return a portion of the image back to its original form,” he said. “Other cases, I will leave the image totally as it is after all adjustments are made; it will ultimately depend on the original image.”

“There’s countless different ways you can go with photos,” he added. He does like doing straightforward photos as well, he said.

Freiss received an Individual Developing Artist grant from SMAC earlier this year.

The show is a cross-section of all his styles, Freiss said. The subject matter is “whatever is given to me,” he added. He likes the close-ups and the abstracts, shooting landscapes. He doesn’t take photos of people that often, he said.

“I have a couple of collections for shows,” he said. There are photos he took up in Alaska recently, as well as images from a 50-mile radius of Marshall.

Freiss said he likes to get people’s reactions to his work. He takes photos all year-round, and said he really likes the winters, getting shots of the snowdrifts.

In a SMAC news release, Freiss said the show is the “beginning of my digital quest.”

“Digital photography presents exciting possibilities,” he said. “I have always enjoyed taking photos of the outdoors and the landscapes that surround me. I also look for abstract images within those landscapes.”

One artistic treatment he likes is the painterly effect in which the photo looks like a painting.

“Advancements in digital cameras and editing software continue to be made,” he said. “I look forward to continuing my study of digital photography by advancing my knowledge and improving my technique in order to capture and create better fine art images.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today