Our September Spotlight is shining brightly on photographer David Constantine!
David counts himself as being fortunate as he has been able to do what he loves as a working photographer for most of his career, including six years in the United States Navy and another five years as a photography contractor. Following settling in Lexington Park, Maryland, he also owned his own studio for over a decade and has been employed for three nationally recognized companies including Lifetouch, Inc.
David’s artistic inspirations have come from many different sources, especially those garnered from traveling abroad. Despite the past year-and-a-half of limited journeys due to COVID-19, Constantine has fond memories (and thousands of images!) from visits to other countries. Two favorites have been both South Africa and Kenya where he was able to photograph a wide array of animals up-close in their natural habitats.
Other memorable trips included adventures in Paris, London (for a Rolling Stones concert!), and to Rome, Italy. Most recently (and pre-COVID) David’s latest adventure was to Vietnam. In the “wishfully near” future, he hopes to visit the massive temple sites and architectural wonders of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the stunning ruins of the Inca Empire at Machu Picchu in Peru, and to make a return trip to Israel.
David’s work is also locally focused as he has skillfully captured serene waterways, points of historical lore, and even the simplest of everyday scenery which he has found to be reflective of the many facets of beauty of Southern Maryland. More than just images captured in a fleeting moment of time, our artist sees his craft as a recording and story-telling of sorts, with a tale to be told behind each and every click of his camera.
Transitioning from years of working solely with film and the often-times enjoyable (but tedious) requirements of subsequent development and much more involved editing processes, David has found that his current cameras have brought a whole new scope of life to his art form. He has become absolutely entranced with the digital revolution of photography and the endless related opportunities as well as the lightning speed of being able to capture, view, and edit his images.
Still, with complete color and black & white darkroom, David has spent hours just processing and printing a single picture. Some of his photos have been shot with his antique cameras (of which he is a collector) of which he hand processes the sheet paper that was used.
Constantine has now developed his own flair that sometimes involves changing an image into a style representative of portraying the photo as an actual painting, similar to that of an oil or watercolor medium. He has also worked his images into graphic linear representations, transitioning a quite ordinary subject into the extraordinary, and has dabbled with the production of photo books and journaling.
Outside of his art form, David is involved in his church and enjoys spending time with family and friends. He says that so far his wonderful wife still seems to adore him regardless of his zeal for off-the-beaten-path traveling and countless hours spent behind the camera and at the computer as he has honed his craft.
Having taken on renovation projects around the home, David has picked up skills such as being able to update and refresh the kitchen, build a work shed, and even has rebuilt a couple of car engines in the past. He does, however, profess that all other of his home and garage projects end up not even coming close to the enjoyment that he has experienced with his photography work.
Shine on David, we are looking forward to seeing you at an upcoming event around town!
To learn more about our featured artist be sure to visit his website: daveseye.viewbug.com
David’s work is currently on display now thru October 11, 2021, at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum located at 22156 Three Notch Rd, Lexington Park, MD 20653. Visit www.paxmuseum.com for open days/ hours and additional museum info.