With 4x5 Field Camera
With 4x5 Field Camera
Larry Tucker, an educator in the Jackson County North Carolina school system for 30 years, prefers places where the influence of man is not apparent. His art is an exercise in selective seeing as he is able to find suggestive forms in nature without imposing too much of himself.
Tucker gives much time, patience, and careful planning to each of his vividly documented photographs of the natural beauty of the Southern Mountains. Working with a large format view camera and a 35mm camera, he has trained his discriminating eye on pristine, undisturbed locations, discovering and displaying the stillness of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness or capturing the sculptured quality of boulders in the Tuckasiegee River Gorge. His favorite places include the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness area, and the Bonas Defeat-Tuckasiegee River Gorge.
Standing in large pothole in Tuckaseigee River Gorge, photo by Craig Forrest
Tucker received his formal education at Mars Hill College where he graduated in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and at Western Carolina University where he received a master’s degree in biology in 1973.
Tucker explains that his “main goal” is: “furthering color photography as a true art form”. Only recently has color photography become accepted as legitimate art. With the advent of stable materials, many are now adding color photographs to their collections.
The artist has been influenced by work appearing in Audubon magazine, which he considers “a showcase of nature photography.” He praises the work of Les Line and Bill Ratcliffe, but he most admires the work of Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter. Porter’s book Appalachian Wilderness is one of his favorites.
Tucker has spent more than 35 years roaming the Southern Mountains developing his technique, achieving a level of mastery both in the field and in the studio.