ARTIST IN RESIDENCE – PHOTOGRAPHER Ted Witek
Ted Witek was born and raised in the United States (Connecticut) and has since lived in Germany, Portugal, and Canada. He now resides in Toronto and Lisbon. Having the artistic good fortune to travel widely, his photographs illustrate several chapters of his life. Ted’s work displays a unique visual curiosity and the ability to capture what might otherwise be passed by, without internalization. His personal projects cover a wide range of subjects and include ten years of photographing Berlin’s Hotel Bogota, a series of bold and sensual flowers, night streetscapes, nudes, and a personal documentation of 100 cities from his broad international travel.
I never trained formally in photography but appreciate the physics of light and the science of visual perception. I have studied the technical aspects of lighting with some very skilled masters and learned enough to know I will never use artificial light for my images.
I use film exclusively. Digital photographic technology is fascinating and has rightly found a dominant place in the commerce of image making. Just not my place. Technically, it may only make a difference in a very limited number of images, and I love when I find those limited circumstances. It really is a unique product.
Not being my core competency, I collaborate with only two master printers for my work. My color printer, Carol, works between Maine and New York City. My black and white printer, Antonio, works in Lisbon (when they are not on holidays). They are an extension of my eyes. A long distance extension.
My curator is my most trusted advisor. She is a master at being direct and providing guardrails of reality to my concepts. In doing so, she brings my work to a different level with her aesthetic congruency. When I see my work displayed in a gallery or book, it’s then I realize most the importance of a team.
“When you ‘see photographically,’ your day is filled with more adjectives…”