Excerpt from "Designing with Photographs", Rotovistion Publishing

Russ Widstrand is one of the pioneering photographers who has embraced the convergence of computers and photography. After graduating from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California in 1982, Widstrand became know for his alternative photographic techniques and conceptual collaboration with clients.

In 1983 he opened his first studio and began to establish his photography business in the design community of Los Angeles. Widstrand has won numerous awards, including mentions in CA and Best of Show in the AR100 competitions. He had established himself in the vanguard of top art buyers in the world with clients ranging from American Express to Xerox.

A theme throughout his career has been experimentation; painted emulsion, cross processing, selective focus, and multiple exposure. This non-traditional approach to his work became the foundation of his creative process. The introduction of computers as a creative tool suited his vision of manipulating photography and allowed him to develop his internationally recognizable illustrative style.

When asked why he creates his work he responded, "that's a tough one, I guess it would come down to the core of what my point of view is, story telling, the ability to create a visual that has a concept, feeling or vision."

In 1989, Russ embraced the convergance of computers and photography, the result was an explosive body of work, the multi-image digital collages, that gained him international recognition.

His clients often give him carte blanche in the creation of his concepts,"my clients usually give me a single theme to work with and I go off and create pencil thumbnails of my ideas to best represent that theme." As the art director, designer and photographer of his artwork, Widstrand believes that computers can be an amazingly creative tool for artists, however, he points out, "all great works of art start with and mind and a pencil."

More recently, Russ has redirected his photography to a more introspective course. Rather than relying on external direction, he has begun an internal search to attempt to communicate the beauty and sorrow of the human spirit. He has chosen the pear as a symbolic metaphor through which he is able express himself.

Russ Widstrand currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and partner, Barbara.

ACTAMED INC.
AMERICAN EXPRESS
APPLIED MAGNETICS INC.
ARCO
ARCO GAS
ARTHUR ANDERSON
AT&T CAPITAL INC.
BECKMAN INSTRUMENTS
BERGEN BRUNSWIG
CAPITAL RESEARCH
CENTRAL RESOURCES GROUP
CITIBANK INC.
CLARIS INC.
CRIIMI MAE
CSC INC.
CYTEC INDUSTRIES
DELL COMPUTERS
DIGITAL MICROWAVE INC.
DISNEY INC.
DOLL CAPITAL
EPSON INC.
FIRST DATA CORP.
FISHER SCIENTIFIC GROUP
FLEET FINANCIAL
FLUOR CORPORATION
FURON INC.
GENERAL DATA COMM
GENERAL ELECTRIC
GENSIA
H. B. FULLER INC.
HEWLETT PACKARD

HOMESTAKE MINING CORP.
HUGHES COMMUNICATIONS INC.
IBM
INTER-REGIONAL FINANCE GROUP
IOMEGA
JP MORGAN
KODAK
KPMG INC.
KU ENERGY
LOCKHEED
LOGICON INC.
LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP.
MCI WORLDCOMM
METRO BANK
MGM/UA TELECOMMUNICATIONS
MULTIMEDIA INC.
NEC INC.
NEUTROGENA INC.
NISSAN
NORTHERN TELECOM
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
ORACLE INC.
PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC
PHILLIP MORRIS INC.
PYXIS INC.
QAD INC.
RADIUS INC.
REMINGTON OIL
ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL
RYDER
SAG SOFTWARE

SHERATON HOTELS
SIMPSON PAPER COMPANY
SOLUTIA INC.
SPRINT INC.
STANDARD AND POORS
STRATUS COMPUTERS INC.
SUN TRUST BANK
SYMANTEC
SYNTEX PHARMACEUTICALS
TELOS INC.
THE 3M CORPORATION
TIMES MIRROR CORP.
TOTAL INC.
TOTAL OIL INC.
TRADE INDEMNITY
TRANSAMERICA INC.
VISA INTERNATIONAL
WYLE LABS
XEROX

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