Category — In the Spotlight

Arriving at the Macaulay building last night, I didn’t really know what to expect from guest speaker Howard Greenberg. I never really took the time to understand photography or research it before that night. Walking in the seminar room and seeing all the photographs I immediately thought that Mr. Greenberg would be explaining in detail the history, angles, lighting, origins, and themes present in each of the photographs. It turned out that we would not only be taught a lesson in photography, but also a lesson in life.

Even though the topic of that evening was photography, the essence of the seminar, which Mr. Greenberg presented to us, was about finding one’s passion in life and the enthusiasm required to turn that passion into a career. Mr. Greenberg almost ended up being a psychologist but after being initially introduced to photography by an ex-girlfriend he dropped what he was doing and never looked back. Not only did Mr. Greenberg follow his passion, he was able to make money in the process without sacrificing his love of photography. He was able to combine the two things that matter most. While most people, especially us college students, seem to be deciding between the two, Mr. Greenberg showed us that we don’t always have to settle.

Howard Greenberg

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/gallery/2008/apr/17/newyorkschoolHoward

Greenberg started off like any one of us. He was confused with his path in life and play around with his career choices. He thought his life was with psychology but life often plays a trick on us and little did he know his career was going to make a one-eighty turn. Through what it would seem to be a miraculous circumstance, a camera fell into his hands and Greenberg discovered a passion that grew with no bounds. Greenberg was different and many would say he was a pioneer in his time. He took that camera and did something with it. With a certain amount of creativity and ingenuity he shot photos and built his portfolio eventually establishing a name for himself. He was different because he put his faith in the course of life and allowed it to bring him to new places and experience new events. As a result Greenberg was able to build himself a prestigious reputation as he traveled to various places such as Woodstock to get his name out there. As of today Greenberg holds a world-famous exhibition known as the Howard Greenberg gallery on 57th street and continues to collect mid-century photography. Although he has mixed feelings for contemporary photography his fervor for the classics will never change.

Howard Greenberg’s talk at Macaulay Honors College surprisingly soothed some of the anxieties that have been plaguing my mind since the beginning of the school year. As he began to speak about how is career in the world of photography unfolded, it became clear that his journey was not only a success story. It was a story of a dream that he followed and worked for. It was a story of passion. When he started to answer questions about the photographs he brought, he immediately expressed his feelings about each one, noting which aspects of the photograph he appreciated, and adding details of its history and its photographer. It was evident from his responses that he not only had zeal for photography, but also a deep knowledge of it. Later, a student asked how he was able to sell photographs, and he replied, “Nothing works better than enthusiasm.”

As a freshman, lost in a sea of possible career choices, I have been wondering how success is even possible when every path seems to have risks and obstacles.  However, Howard Greenburg showed life in a different light. “Make a life out of what you love,” he said. While I have heard this from countless friends and family members, I am not sure that I ever really believed it until I heard it from this man. It is not because he is wealthy or has made a name for himself as a photography dealer. Rather, it is because he seemed genuinely happy with his decision to pursue photography. In the end, whatever career I do choose to follow, I hope that I will have the same hunger and devotion that Greenberg has for his work in photography.

With a photo gallery located on 57th Street in Manhattan, Howard Greenberg has established himself in the New York City scene, as well as around the world as a renowned photography curator and dealer. However, Greenberg did not start out with the dream career of being a photographer. He initially studied to become a psychologist in college, but stumbled upon photography after a family friend’s trip to Japan landed him with a camera. Many people spend years of their life trying to figure out what they want to do as a career, but with his new camera, Greenberg found his calling and decided to become a photographer.

Greenberg started off as a freelance photojournalist when he moved to Woodstock, NY in the 1970s. Throughout his time in Woodstock, Greenberg created a name for himself and had many of his photographs published in papers such as the New York Times as well as magazines; he opened up the Center for Photography in Woodstock in 1977. He takes great interest in mid-century photography, although he is familiar with both 19^th and 20^th century photography; in 1980 opened up the Howard Greenberg Gallery in Soho, Manhattan to exhibit great works by famous photographers from the past and present. Greenberg’s gallery is now located on 57th Street and consists of a diverse number of prints that show different styles of photography from every artist.

picture found on: http://www.aperture.org/partypics/detail.php?id=2

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