Gary R. Thompson 

Gary Thompson has been exhibiting and selling his photographic images since 1977. His work is included in over four hundred private and commercial collections throughout the United States and Canada and although primarily shown in the east, is displayed from coast to coast.

Specializing in limited edition landscapes and seascapes, Gary's goal is to create mood and feelings in the minds of those who view his images and to project a harmonious and peaceful coexistence between man and nature. When observers speak of his prints as if they were paintings, his concept of painting with light is confirmed. Hoping that his work will promote an appreciation of the environment, he has elected to emphasize the romantic and positive beauty of the world.

Gary's work through 1993 was exclusively done in the 35-mm format. During that time he printed almost exclusively from 4x5 internegatives made from KODACHROME slides. Since June 1993 he has created almost all of his exhibiting images with a medium format Pentax 6x7 camera and several Pentax lenses. Gary rarely uses filters other than a protective 81A filter, polarizers and neutral density gradients. Currently he used primarily KODAK EKTACHROME VS Slide Film.

Until 2004 Gary printed all of his own C-Prints at Campos Photography Center using KODAK EKTACOLOR SUPRA III Paper, N-surface. Some of his prints were straight one-step printing processes; while others involved as many as six steps of burning and dodging in order to retain detail in shadowed areas while bringing out highlights. Since 1999 he has introduced a few Iris Gicle'e prints. Because of the complexity of this kind of printing, John Latimer, the owner and master printer at E J Arts has scanned and printed these images. Gary has recently started to work closely with Michael Hager at Museum Photographics and has had Mike print archival custom digital prints for exhibition.

Gary believes in the importance of the care and craftsmanship used to assemble the print, mats, glass and frames for his photographs. All mats are selected from acid-free materials, and he uses conservation glass designed to block much of the ultraviolet light of sunlight. Non-glare conservation glass is available on request. Much credit for the finished product comes from the assistance, advice, and expertise of the folks at Frameworks on Ridge Road in Greece, NY.

Gary has had solo artists shows at the Century Club, the Tea House at the Downstairs Cabaret, and at Compo's Photography Center. For three years he and his wife, Phyllis, were the Artists in Residence for Touché D' Artiste at the Hungerford Gallery. In 2004 he and Phyllis taught photography at the Conference of the Arts on Star Island, NH.

In addition to exhibiting and selling his prints, Gary has taught photography courses for many schools and organizations in the Rochester Area. He currently teaches courses for introductory, intermediate, and advanced photographers in the Rush-Henrietta Continuing Education Program. He has led tours for photographers to the Canadian Rockies, Olympic National Park, Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Great Smokey Mountains, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and to the coast of Maine. He has donated prints for sale or auction to non-profit organizations such as Channel WXXI, Victor's Dollars for Scholars Fund, The Chocolate Ball, Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Adam Walsh Center.