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. 

     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.

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