Jason Gorbel

Jason Gorbel

2016 Annual Juried Competition
Honorable Mention

Statement:
I employ vintage film cameras to reveal the emotions, textures, and patterns in black and white that color tends to obscure. My photographs emerge from the beaches of Long Island where I live to the streets, subways, and parks of New York City where I teach. As a special education teacher, I enjoy sharing the art of using analog cameras and darkroom practices with inner-city students who have special needs.

Bio:
I am a recently married, 45-year-old father of two adult sons who I adopted as small children. I lived my whole life on Long Island, in Suffolk and Nassau counties. I learned photography in the 1980s as a kid in summer camp and have been in love with it ever since. My other passions include writing and teaching. I have been able to spread the love of photography through my career as a special education teacher by creating photography curriculum that is accessible to urban youth who have special emotional needs and are economically disadvantaged. Not all kids want to be on a computer and for them time in the darkroom watching their images come to life is soothing. I am near completing a doctoral dissertation about the benefits of teaching photography to youth with special emotional needs.

Artist’s website: www.facebook.com/Jason.Gorbel.Photography