Charlie Osborn Photography

The images below say it all. There is great beauty in the world around us. We just need to keep our eyes open. Each of these photos was shot within fifty feet of each other over a span of about two hours. South Point, on the Big Island — Hawai'i, is a feast of big scenes and small details. That is what our environment is all about. That is what much of my photography is all about — big scenes and small details, sometimes in the same print.

Sunset at South Point, Hawaii, The Big Island

Cliffs at South Point, Hawaii, The Big Island

South Point, on the Big Island — Hawai'i, is a feast
of scenes, big and small. These shots were all made within
50 feet of each other over the span of a couple of hours.

In 1973 I set out with college degree in hand from California State University, Chico (then called Chico State College) to begin a career in graphic design and silk screen printing. Photography was an adjunct to my design career and over the years I shot a lot of film. It was something I liked to do, however the images went into my archives. A few were lab printed, framed and hung, but most languished away in the dark, eventually to come out become the basis for my Photo Art.

Silk screen printing gave way to full-bore graphic design by 1980, which then dove into the world of computers in 1983. Over the years, from that rudimentary beginning, I fully incorporated digital technologies to run the business and as design and production tools. The advancement of inkjet printing then brought me full circle back into printing in order to produce the art prints I was creating.

Then came the abandonment of film cameras for digital. It occurred somewhat gradually, but once I bought my Canon 5D full-frame digital, there was no turning back. This technology has greatly expanded my horizons and enhanced my approach to photography. These days my photographic pursuits follow multiple paths. My Photo Art pieces are characterized by my image-within-an-image prints. Primarily, these are landscapes.

The second path comprises my more traditional photographs, which in themselves follow many paths. I shoot not so much based on a narrow band of subject matter, but more on being "Opportunistic" driven by composition or color or texture or simply something interesting. Maybe something in heavy action like an air show or a Sandhill Hill Crane doing a mating dance! I simply like to aim my camera and see what I can do with the opportunity presented.

Charlie Osborn Early Days

This profile shouldn't end without acknowledging some beginning point in my photographic career, although I can't pinpoint an absolute beginning. This photo will have to serve as proof of something going on at an early age. I was 13 when I was caught taking a picture of the picture taker in December of 1959.

Charlie Osborn