Craig Scoffone
Craig Scoffone is a fine art photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been shooting for 30 years, and has had his works published and exhibited both domestically and internationally. In addition to his artistic pursuits of both the local and regional landscape, Craig has also amassed an extensive collection of compelling works of the figure.
For the duration of Craig’s career as a photographer, he has also been an accomplished portrait and commercial photographer, having provided his skills to many Silicon Valley clients. But Craig’s true and longest lasting interest in photography, has most certainly been his pursuit of fine art compositions. There is a wide ranging approach, in both technique and style, of the various themes, Craig chooses to photograph. This has resulted in a body of work, that has profound diversity, not normally associated to the works of a single artist.
“It keeps me interested in creating new works,” Craig says, in referring to the variety of techniques, and the resulting diversity in styles that result, in reviewing various samples of his work. Craig is not interested in being considered, “a one trick pony,” in terms of being associated with just one, single, identifiable style. Just appreciating not just the variety of styles, but the compelling quality of individual compensations – from soft and painterly, to bold, vivid abstractions, is a valid strategy when taking in the contemporary works of this artist.
Artist’s Statement
When I’m out on a hike, always with my camera, what compels me to photograph a composition, is balance. An easily recognized interplay of contrasts, of shapes, textures and tones. A scene ready for recording with my camera has achieved a sense of balance that keeps the viewer’s eye squarely within the frame of the finished piece. Not to disappoint, but there is no intellectual angst or emotional turmoil that drives my art, or my need to create it. I just enjoy the beauty of the outdoors very much, and recording it in an artful and creative way brings me great pleasure. The challenge to try to do something different, within the frame work of solid compositional principles, is what I also enjoy in the process of creating this work. I’m constantly thinking of different ways to create photographic images – that’s why my portfolio as a whole is so diverse. I need to do things this way to keep myself interested in creating new work.
Sometimes, I’ll be on a hike, and there may not be that many compelling compositions that present themselves to me, but that’s o.k,. Interesting compositions are worth the hunt, but just by being in the beautiful outdoors, I’m already ahead of the game. Finding compositions worth recording, I view as icing on the cake. This mind set keeps the ratio of images worth working on in post production, from the grouping taken in total, as a very high percentage of my work.
I’ve found the female nude to be an outstanding photographic theme to create with, since I first started creating photographic art many years ago. My compositional style, I would have to say, is more sculptural and design oriented, than, say, portraiture. I like to work with the simple shapes of the human form, and as a common denominator, go off and use different techniques, both in camera, and in post production. The variation, of pose, of body type, of camera perspective, lighting, composition, and setting, creates so many fantastic variations, that the creative challenge is always there. Sometimes, I think of myself as a landscape photographer, interpreting the female form, because I often create compositions and perspectives just like when I shoot horizons or trees – it works for both themes. But then other times, my work ends up looking more like “pop art,” using stark contrasts and bright colors. And sometimes, soft, painterly, and dreamlike, are also favorite techniques I like to employ. It creates a very versatile and diverse body of work.