Artist's Statement

As far back as I can remember I’ve found it natural to observe the world
in a detached, objective manner. I think this is what led me to pursue a
career in science. It is also responsible for my fascination with photography,
which goes back more than 25 years, when I started doing my own film
processing and printing.

For many years I had abandoned photography, in part due to a gradual
deterioration in my vision from a congenital disorder. Eventually, certain
factors conspired to bring me back to it. First, two corneal transplants gave
me near normal visual acuity. Second, I decided to give up my career as a
research scientist. A third factor was the advent of digital photography and
the power and creative potential it brought to the medium. Now I devote
myself full-time to photography.

I care little about the manifest subject matter of my photos; I’m attracted to
anything with dramatic light and shadow, unusual textures, forms and patterns.
Yet there seem to be several elements common to much of my work. I find
myself experimenting much as I did when I was a scientist, systematically
varying camera, lighting, and software parameters and observing the effects.
Many of my images reflect my unconventional sense of humor. I also enjoy
taking images to the brink of abstraction. I don’t like to impose a particular
style on my work; I try to let each image speak for itself and tell me how it
“wants” to look.

Larry Chait
November 2005