Artist Statement: My Influences
by Chris Nicholson

People sometimes ask me who has most influenced my work.

Often when photographers are asked such a question, they respond with a list of famous photographers such as Ansel Adams, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Art Wolfe, Walker Evans, Dorthea Lange, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon or Philipe Halsman.

I, however, credit my path in photography to people I've been close with over the past 30 years of growing up: Malcolm A. Nicholson, Robert Dixon, Conroy Taylor and Jean Paul Vellotti.

Malcolm A. Nicholson

Also known as "Dad" (or, in earlier years, "Daddy"), he's been an avid amateur photographer since shortly before I was born. A longtime Minolta user, Dad has in recent years begun to realize the wonders of digital photography (in this regard, he's clearly ahead of his oldest child). Likely to photograph anything interesting, Dad is especially drawn to peaceful landscapes and images with unorthodox perspectives (such as reflections in water).

When I was in college and finally decided to seriously learn photography, it was Dad who taught me about how aperture affects shutter speed in equivalent exposures. He also gave me my first "real" camera, a Miranda with a 35mm lens that he'd bought in the 1970s. And it was his love and appreciation of nature — and of capturing that nature on film — that inspired me to photograph landscapes.

Robert Dixon

Also known as "Uncle Bob" (because he's my uncle), he was the man who had a camera aimed my way for most of my childhood. Uncle Bob was a photojournalist who worked for the New Haven Register, the New Haven Journal Courier and the West Haven News, and I was perhaps his most common subject. By the time I was 10 years old, my photo had shown up in those three newspapers dozens of times. Sometimes the photos were related to holidays, sometimes to weather or a season, and sometimes to me just acting like a kid (a tendency I've yet to outgrow).

My favorite photo of me from my whole life was taken by Uncle Bob. It depicts me sitting on the steps of the house I grew up in, holding a bun-less raw hot dog (my favorite meal at that age) while my dog, Takis, reaches over my shoulder to share my food (I didn't mind sharing). The photo, of course, appeared on the front page of the newspaper.

My uncle had a darkroom in his basement that I was always fascinated with. I wasn't allowed in there without him, so I'd often just look at the door in awe of the wonders of chemical photography, wondering what magic lay in that room.

Conroy Taylor

Conroy has been a wedding photographer for about half a century. He was also one of the adults involved with Boy Scout Troop 16 in West Haven, Connecticut. I was in Troop 16, and Conroy taught me about his art and how to use a darkroom while I was earning my Photography Merit Badge. He also once let me come on an assignment with him, which at the time I thought was one of the best experiences of my life.

I lost touch with Conroy in my late teens, though he's still working, documenting the nuptials of New Haven County and beyond.

Dad, Uncle Bob and Conroy had, by their nature, exposed me to photography from as early as my first memories. So it's obvious how the seed of photography was planted in my mind.

But the person who fertilized that seed was:

Jean Paul Vellotti

Also known as "J.P.," he's the person who helped bring me from "interested" to "avid," and who encouraged me when I decided to try "professional." We met in college, where we worked long hours together on the student newspaper, the Spectrum. I eventually became editor of the newspaper, and J.P. served as my photo editor for a year, a tenure together that led to us building one the most important friendships of my life.

J.P. helped me buy my first professional camera, and for a few years helped me with lens purchases, film choices and business decisions. He taught me how to develop film, how to print photos, and that the Sunny-16 exposure rule is worth trusting. He's also been my travel companion on countless occasions of photographing stock travel photos across the United States.

If not for J.P.'s help and influence, this website and my life as a photographer probably wouldn't exist. Because of this, I was saddened when J.P. gave up photography in the mid-1990s. Fortunately, though, he returned to the craft in 2001, and in June 2002 graduated from the International Center of Photography in New York City. JP is working as a freelance photojournalist based in Long Island (New York); his wedding work can be seen at HanlonMeade.com.

In Summary

Have I been influenced by famous photographers like Ansel Adams, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Art Wolfe, Walker Evans, Dorthea Lange, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon or Philipe Halsman? Of course I have; no photographer could reasonably say that he or she hasn't.

But my most important influences were Dad, Uncle Bob, Conroy and J.P. They're not famous photographers, but they're the ones who were part of my life, who helped me hone my interest and my skill, and who inspired me to pursue my love for making images.

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