Westbeth Gallery: JUDY LAWNE Moments – A Photographic Retrospective June 29 – July 14

OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday June 29 6 pm – 8 pm

A Brief History of Judy Lawne

I’m a native New York and in ’72 moved to California but kept my place in New York.

Prior to following my passion for photography, I had another career which did border on the photography world, so it just was one side of the camera to the other. Once I built the bullet to learn photography, I started assisting the well-known photographer, Albert Watson. When he and his family moved to New York in ’76, I returned home with them. Then I assisted Bruce Weber and rented part of O. Winston Links studio where he taught me how to print in black and white. Another important person all through my career was John Krawczyk who built every darkroom I had and made photography a daily learning and a wonderful experience.

Work: From the late 70’s to the early 80’s : My first professional work was in fashion and editorial. For European publications, Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping then wen onto doing annual reports and portraiture. My clients were Authors for Portraits creating book covers and publishing companies. In California I shot portraits of celebrities, and Special Photography in advertising for feature movies.

Mid 80’s. I photographed the only advertising campaign for Rockefeller Center in black and white, winning 5 Addy awards. Kodak gifted me with Panatomic X asa 32 which I used on the Rockefeller campaign.

Mid 90’s. My client, Louis Vuitton asked me to document their centennail at the Mercer Hotel in New York. This was my first offical job in Event Documentation and it opened up a new world for me both in New York and California. Late 90’s Kodak gifted me with TMax 3200 which I brought in the dance studio having serveral shows of this work.

2001. I was in NY on a job when 9-11 happened and the Salvation Army asked me to photograph the horrific happening….which I did.

PERSONAL WORK: The peace I get from photographing along the Pacific Coast, or Martha’s Vinyard (thanks to ELAINE) and now the west side of New York, being lucky enough to live in Westbeth. I’m really a black and white –darkroom photographer. In 2007, I slowly turned to the digital medium. I also taught photography during the years to youth-at-risk.

Photography is a way of life and a great passion. I feel that a photograph “shows the MOMENT of time that no other medium can capture.”