Schuyler Grace

Schuyler Grace is an Arizona-based photographer whose work pays homage to the art's nineteenth- and early twentieth-century masters. He combines modern vision with techniques from the dawn of photography to create handcrafted images that are both beautiful and enduring.

Born and raised in rural central Georgia, Schuyler was first introduced to the world of photography as, of all things, a 4-H Club member. The 4-H Photography program taught him the basics, led to his first photography awards, and sparked a lifelong love of the art.

Partly in pursuit of “practical” career and partly to escape life in the boondocks, Schuyler left high school early and set out to make his way in the Big City—Atlanta—and study electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. It was there he was first introduced to large format photography and had the opportunity to see the works Stieglitz, Steichen, Evans, Weston, Arbus, and other masters in person. While his previous work in photography taught him the craft's mechanics, “meeting” his mentors was quite literally an eye-opening experience. Schuyler finally felt the power of photographs in a way that could never be conveyed by reproductions in a book, discovering there was so much more to a great photograph beyond the elements of subject, composition, and exposure.

After leaving Georgia Tech, Schuyler went on to a twenty-year career in network design and management, most of which was spent at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. But during that time, his love of photography never abated, and a 35mm camera was as important as a regulation Fed suit on business trips. By this point, black and white photography had become his passion, as it reduced the subject to an abstraction of form and tone and inspired a new way of seeing the world around him.

Impending marriage and a change in “day-jobs” next led Schuyler to the American southwest, a hotbed of photography, in general, and large format photography, in particular. However, that move also took away his access to a darkroom. So, he did what any good farmboy would—he made chicken soup from chicken poop, and in the process, discovered the beauty and intimacy of platinum printing and other so-called “alternative” photographic processes. Platinum allowed Schuyler to work without benefit of a traditional darkroom, while adding a whole new dimension of expression.

Twenty years of anything can get old, especially when that time is spent tethered to a pager every hour of the day and night, so Schuyler decided a change of pace was in order. He kept the wife, who had supported him through all too many midnight work emergencies, and got rid of the career (also with much support from the wife). Now, Schuyler could finally explore Arizona's backroads, his trusty, old 8x10 camera close by, between freelance writing assignments.

Today, Schuyler continues to ply his trades in welcome obscurity. He has written for a number of publications, including the Chrysler Museum quarterly, Forward, while building his portfolio of platinum prints. Arizona has proven to be a font of photographic inspiration, with its varied landscape, diverse population, and assortment of man-made wonders, new and old. And with the wisdom that comes of age and experience, Schuyler has regained an appreciation for the slower, simpler, and better things in life he left behind on the family farm all those years ago.