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Brendan Devlin

I'm a self-taught photographer, printmaker, bookmaker. I’m currently working on 3 long term projects that center on the Connecticut River Oxbow, the rocky shores of New England and the wind-shaped oaks of Martha’s Vineyard.

beedevlin.com

Michéla Griffith

In 2012 I paused by my local river and everything changed. I’ve moved away from what many expect photographs to be: my images deconstruct the literal and reimagine the subjective, reflecting the curiosity that water has inspired in my practice. Water has been my conduit: it has sharpened my vision, given me permission to experiment and continues to introduce me to new ways of seeing.

michelagriffith.com

Consciously or not, we invariably loop back on early interests and experiences in our photographic subject matter. In Brendan Devlin’s case, this is the woods and shoreline of his childhood, and in particular, the passage of time, the forgotten histories—the enduring and ephemeral elements. More than a theme, this is a process too. Brendan has spent 15 years observing and photographing the changes occurring around Connecticut’s Oxbow, close to his home and that of many others. Looking the location up on an aerial photograph, you may be surprised at just how close this apparent wildness is to domesticity.

The enjoyment for Brendan lies at either end of the process—making the photo outdoors, slowly, and in printing, for which history crops up again in the processes that he most enjoys using.

Would you like to start by telling readers a little about yourself – where you grew up, what your early interests were, and what you went on to do?

I was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in a town just up the coast called Branford. As a kid I had a keen interest in both art and science; I loved to draw as well as conduct my own crude scientific experiments. I spent a lot of time exploring the woods surrounding my house and the tidal pools at the shore. As I grew older, I developed an interest in playing and recording music. I studied Astronomy at a college in western Massachusetts. I stayed in the area after college and eventually got a job in the rare book and manuscript trade, where I have remained for most of my career.

How did you become interested in photography, and what kind of images did you initially set out to make? How much time are you now able to devote to your photography?

Throughout my childhood, I developed a penchant for documenting my surroundings, whether it was through drawing, taking photographs or making audio recordings.

My mom was our family photographer, and my first photos were taken with her Instamatic and Polaroid cameras. When I was around 7, my dad brought me a copy of Astronomy Magazine, and I became obsessed with figuring out how the pictures of celestial objects were taken. I had looked through backyard telescopes, and the dim, grey, ghostly views were a far cry from the rich, detailed, colorful vistas printed in the magazine. To my surprise, you didn’t need to be a scientist at a large observatory to do it. Ordinary people did it from their backyards. I learned that a camera could do more than just freeze an event like a birthday party or family vacation; it could reveal things that could not be seen with your eyes.

When I was around 11, my father got a 35mm camera (Ricoh KR-10). I immediately commandeered it (sorry, Dad) and began making attempts to capture the night sky. This was the start of my lifelong journey with cameras. At first, I was extremely unsuccessful. I remember being happy just to have anything show up in the prints. During this period, while I took a lot of terrible photos, I began to learn about the essential rudiments of photography, like aperture and exposure, etc.