November 2013

A Slower Way of Seeing: Photographs of the American Vernacular

Although D.B. Stovall calls his work “American Vernacular,”  it is important that it be understood what it is and what it isn’t. Although some have termed it “old buildings,” that is selling it far too short. Stovall does tend to look for older buildings, but that is more due to the fact that older structures, like whiskey or cognac aging in a barrel, acquire a certain color and flavor after many years. This is enhanced by the various hands that have put their own touches onto the structure, like an artist on a canvas over a long period.

Stovall tries to capture that sense, as well as highlight the subjects that others tend to overlook. The view camera is a perfect tool for this work. It enforces a discipline on my vision, what he calls a “slower way of seeing” that highlights the sharp detail that would otherwise be lost in the camouflage of the everyday.

D. B. Stovall, a Washington, DC area native, bought his first camera at age 10 – a Rosko purchased for 88 cents at Murphy’s Five and Dime. Quickly moving on to various Instamatics, an old Leica D, and finally Japanese 35mm SLRs, Stovall explored various aspects of black and white photography, becoming adept at all kinds of darkroom work by the time he entered high school. Stovall was introduced to the view camera at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the early 1970s and eventually moved on to large format color transparency in a realism-based vision, which he still practices today. With today’s technology making it easier to obtain high quality archival prints from transparencies, Stovall returned to the view camera in the mid 2000′s and has since then been in over 100 juried group and solo shows.

Visit Stovall’s website at dbstovall.com.