Photographers have influences. They’re unavoidable. We all had someone who either fired that creative spark the first time, or, someone we have tried to emulate from earlier eras. For me, it started with my dad. And for him, his uncle. Photography runs in my family. But, even so, I was fortunate to have gotten formal training. In high school, Brother John took all of us from the Photography Club to a class at the Art Institute. We spent a Saturday cramming our heads with as much knowledge as we could handle, but, I was a teenager. I honestly do not remember much from that day, other than thinking, damn, this is cool, we’re hanging out at the Art Institute! It beats helping my dad work on our cars in the garage!

In my sophomore year in college, I needed a general education elective. I scanned the program for the winter 1988 semester, and nothing jumped off the page at me. Until I found “Principles Of Photography.” The description was brief- learn basic skills behind the camera and in the darkroom. Ok…. But, I needed an elective, in the arts. Fine, sign me up, I’ll get this out of the way.

First day of class, Mr. Donald Bulucos walks in- untrimmed beard, wild dark hair, vest, a very well worn shirt underneath, jeans. He looked just like Dennis Hopper’s character in “Apocalypse Now.” Truly, he could have been Dennis’ twin. Now you have my interest! He started talking about his career, and, he chose education. Five minutes into that first day, I knew I had accidentally made a great decision. He commanded the room, got our attention, and for the first time, I really felt a creative spark. I wanted to learn everything he had to teach, and put it into practice. And that’s what he wanted out of his students. We connected right from the start. He took a few of us under his wing- those of us who spent time with him after class, talking about anything and everything related to photography. We had projects throughout the semester, he would send us out to find subjects, or to try specific techniques. And, we then learned the art of processing, from developing the film, to enlarging, printing, etc. I ate it all up. Then we had to choose a final series. I chose cemeteries. I had always had an interest in old cemeteries, both the history, and the ornate headstones and mausoleums. Chicago has a lot of old cemeteries, dating back to the mid 1800s, so, there was not an absence of subjects. I have not scanned those negatives yet, so, I cannot share the photos from the class yet. But, this photo is of a headstone that I have been drawn to at Graceland Cemetery on the north side of town, which I came across while shooting the final series.

My friend Corey and I also were the only ones in the class to photograph a model, which Mr. Bulucos thought was really cool. He and I were the only ones who got an A in the class, as a result. After the class, we kept in touch, and he gave me access to the darkroom any time I needed it, throughout the rest of my college career.

What I learned that semester sticks to me to this day. Sure, things are a little different- digital offers much more flexibility, you have a memory card that can hold thousands of photos. But, I still try to get it right in the camera. I try to do as little post-processing of my digital photos as I can. And, while all my photos are color when I take them, at least 80% of the time, I convert them to black and white. It’s how I learned how to see the world, from the training I got from Mr. Bulucos. We shot everything on black and white film. Everything. I will never forget, I had ventured downtown during a snowstorm, and I was in the darkroom trying to get some good prints from that day. I had one problematic photo (the featured image of this post), the staircase of one of the elevated platforms downtown, with snow covering the top of it. He and I spent at least 8 hours in the darkroom, working on that photo. No matter what I did under the enlarger, the snow was not quite the right shade of white. He kept leaning over my shoulder, “Snow doesn’t look like that when it falls! Come on!” To this day, I think of him when I’m photographing in winter. The first thing I look at is how the snow looks when I have downloaded the photos. Beyond this, he taught me composition, changing my point of view, and, always, ALWAYS look around you. Look behind you. You may find something more interesting than the subject you are trying to shoot.

I learned the other day that he passed away in September 2015. His obituaries are still online. In reading through all of the entries, it’s clear I am not the only one who he had influenced. He wasn’t Ansel Adams, but he was my Ansel Adams, and apparently, many others’ Ansel Adams as well. Almost 30 years later, that spark he ignited still burns in me. And, in the end, he still has achieved some level of immortality. I know I told him many times how much I appreciated his mentoring. And I will say again, thank you, Mr. Bulucos. For everything.