As a recent Octogenarian (on September 1st), fine art photographer Raymond A. Bleesz doesn’t see himself “retiring” as photography is a lifelong activity & passion. With 48 years of photographic work under his belt, Raymond works daily at making photos, printing, displaying his art at gallery settings, and selling his work. Photography requires “work” on a constant basis and is an endeavor which is more than clicking the shutter on occasion.

As a social scientist and historian, the former educator turned photographer views photography as a “documentarian”, capturing the Zeitgeist of his time & place—Reality in Essence. His subject matter is People, Places, Events & Things. His style of work is predominately displayed in black & white as compared to colored photos as he views it to be more intellectually challenging.

Since turning 80, Raymond has composed a number of photos shown here and is planning on producing further works as he goes into a new era. He is the co-founder of the Vail Valley Art Guild Photographers group (VVAGCO.org) and has been a member of CPAC (“Colorado Photographic Arts Center”), which, founded in Denver in 1963, is the oldest fine art gallery West of the Mississippi. Raymond routinely displays locally and predominately in Denver and on the Front Range and considers himself to be a “Regionalist Photographer of the West”.