Capturing Moments in Time
Staten Island native Patrick Surace received his first
camera, a 35mm film camera, as an elementary school graduation present from an
uncle. This gift opened a new world for him—one where he was able to develop
his creative side. After a short
instructional lesson, Patrick was bitten by the shutter bug and found himself
sending roll after roll of Kodak Kodachrome and TRI-X through the mail for
processing. It was a few years later
that he became interested in darkroom procedures and began developing his own
prints.
Patrick’s passion for photography runs in the family—four
great-uncles were all successful studio photographers with studios in Manhattan
and Pennsylvania. Patrick’s father and uncle
used to visit their studios and learned the craft themselves, although they
didn’t follow in their uncles’ footsteps professionally. They did, however,
teach young Patrick all they knew about taking photos.
Throughout his life, Patrick had two parallel careers. His mainstay was in law enforcement as one of
“New York City’s Proudest” working in Manhattan until retiring a few years
ago. The other career was photography, finding
time on his days off to take pictures of events such as proms, graduations, and
weddings.
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This is my favorite image on display.
It's a shot taken in Vermont's Old
Bennington Historic District. . |
After retiring from the police force in 2003, Patrick
decided to move from the big city to a space that was reminiscent of his
formative years on Staten Island where he was "surrounded by beautiful lush
country terrain.” He found this in
Schaghticoke, NY, where he lived until his recent move to Troy where his studio is
located. He currently does portrait,
landscape, event, architecture, product, still life, and publicity shots.
The “creative gene” seems to have been passed further down
the line to Patrick’s three children.
One son is an aspiring photographer assistant in Manhattan. His other
son lives in Los Angeles and is a graphic animator. His daughter recently
returned from a job with CBS in Los Angeles and is now living in Manhattan.
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This photo was taken in Savannah,
Georgia's marketplace. |
Try to stop by the Folsom Library to check out the beautiful
shots Patrick has taken in and around the Capital District and beyond. They’ll be on display until sometime this
summer. The photographs, framed and unframed, are also for purchase. I have a list of prices. If you can’t make it in, check out his
galleries (still life and product; city, street, and abstract; nature and
floral; interiors; landscape and architecture; portrait, and high dynamic range
or HDR) online at http://www.patricksuracestudios.com/
Patrick truly has a natural talent for capturing beautiful photographic images.
Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library
