Meet Jack and
Beverly
*Udated February 2009*
We are photographers, computer artists, and collectors. We both have undergraduate degrees in art and received our graduate degrees in photography at the Institute of Design in Chicago. We have been married for more than 40 years and share interests/obsessions in the history and prehistory of photography and the computer, reading mysteries and science fiction, rummaging through flea markets and antique shows, and collecting a wide range of things. Visit our site Jack and Beverly's Collections of Collections to see some of the things we collect and The Magic Mirror of Life: An Appreciation of the Camera Obscura to learn about our ongoing research.
Photography was the focus of our life for years but in 1985 we bought a computer to catalog our books. In the years that have passed since then about three shelves (out of over 50) have been catalogued. With the advent of the computer our life made a paradigm shift. Our first computer was an Amiga. We became those annoying people who said at every chance, "But what about the Amiga?" It was a sad day when we bundled up the Amigas and passed them along to someone who is building a Commodore collection.
For years we ran Mac programs on an AMAX board in the Amiga, and ran them very well, thank you. But in 1994 we had to accept the inevitable and buy a Macintosh. Beverly used one for years in her corporate graphics job and Jack taught computer courses on Macs so there was no question as to the platform we would move to. Now if Apple doesn't fold or sell its soul to Microsoft we are all set!
With our common interest in photography and computers we often collaborate and assist each other on projects and exhibitions. Since 1986 we have called our collaboration Bright Bytes Studio. We are continuing to research and collect information and artifacts about our primary area of interest (obsession), the history and application of the camera obscura. A book about the camera obscura is under way.
Jack retired from his postion as Chair and Professor of Photography and Art History at the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2008. He plans to become more involved with astronemy, in which he has a long held interest. He enjoys Sherlock Holmes, hard boiled mysteries, and cyber punk fiction, especially William Gibson.
Beverly retired in 2003 from her position in the technology services department of a vehicle management company doing computer graphics, web graphics and web design. She is enjoying the opportunity to expand a number of web sites she designed and maintains. She accepts a limited number of freelance assignments. She reads English mysteries, with a preference for women writers of the 20's through 40's.
