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Though he currently resides in San Jose, California, James was born in
Vancouver, BC. His mother was from Holland and his father from
England. His father, who was a cameraman back in London at Wembley Studios
before World War Two, had a great passion for Film. He was always taking
photos of the family and of their trips together. He was James' first
influence in film and photography. In the early sixties they followed the
American dream and moved to California. There James fell in love with the
landscape. The mountains and beaches near Santa Cruz became his home. In
grade school he was compelled to draw, paint, and write about this area and
about its captivating, majestic presence.
James started to take photos in 1981 and dropped all other two dimensional
media except for an occasional sketch. After attending a Fred Picker
workshop he read everything he could find by this photographer. James also
read a lot of essays and studied the photographs by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston
and Paul Strand. He wanted to get into their heads and understand everything there is to know about photography. His investigations did not stop there. He studied painters such as Richard Diebenkorn and Salvador Dali, especially with an eye to how they manipulated space. Although they handled landscapes quite differently, the results are exquisite. That intrigued him.
To pay for his passion James worked for his family's travel agency, "British
European Travel". This gave him ample opportunity to travel. He went to
Europe many times, as well as to the South Pacific. These travels had the
effect of making him even more aware of the wonderful landscape in his own
backyard. Sometimes he'd be transported to some metaphysical-spiritual plane
while standing on a windy cliff overlooking the sea, and he'd wax eloquent.
He immersed himself in Siddha Yoga and a wealth of eastern philosophy. This
knowledge has continued to exert a great influence on his life, and can be
felt in his art.
James left the family business after several years in order to devote
himself to his artistic pursuits. As he says, "It is really important to me
to do something in this world that feels right, to find my dharma, even if
it means taking risks."
That brings us to the present. James lives in San Jose, which suits him well
because it is near the coast and close to his friends. He, without a doubt,
loves what he is doing with his life. His future plans are to further
develop his body of work and to expand his audience through exhibitions and
publication in fine photography magazines.
James Dewrance's M.O.
My motivation is simple: I love making negatives, silver prints, and I
treasure where I have been working. Fred Picker, the photographer, was very
generous in sharing his knowledge with me. He said "Stake out your claim,
find your own place to work, and work it hard and persist in your work." I
took this information to heart and found my muse on the north coast of Santa
Cruz, California up to Ano Nuevo Island. I have been working there for the
better part of twenty years. I never tire of it; the coast is constantly
changing. Sands shift, cliffs collapse, things float in and away. I tune
into the seasonal changes in the lighting, and am particularly fond of the
extrordinary light of late spring.
Making photographs is hard work. The logistics of figuring out how many
days I can get away to shoot is always a challenge. Sometimes I feel lousy
or it is too cold or too windy. Regardless, I just have to get in my truck
and go. Cruise up Highway One. Where I end up depends on the tide, the
direction of light, a whim or a notion. I listen to my intuition. I have
learned to be patient with myself. I have stopped comparing my work to the
masters and my contemporaries. My motivation is to do the best I can with
what I have and to be as honest as possible with myself.
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