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Biosketch & Techniques
    Robert Cassanova's photography integrates the visualization process for science and art into his photographic images.   He uses digital as well as medium and large format film cameras to capture scenic visions of order, symmetry and the flow of light and form.  "My career in aerospace research has sensitized me to the interplay of the creative, and often transformative, processes in art and science.  The presence of visual patterns, the flow of light and form, order and symmetry are frequently represented in my photographic images."   Robert's portfolio includes visual themes of rustic farm life, astrophotography, architecture, growth patterns in plants, places of worship and scenes from the Sierra mountains, coastal areas, the Colorado plateau, France and Italy.   
    Robert has a long standing fascination with photography and along the way  developed another fascination with science and aeronautics, which led to his formal career in aerospace research.      He acquired his first "serious" camera after graduating from undergraduate engineering school but his love for the photographic image significantly advanced during graduate school when he integrated black and white photography into his PhD dissertation.  During this process Robert was introduced to chemical darkroom techniques and first observed the magic of the silver image appearing in the developer.  Over more than six decades his photographic tools have expanded to include a large, well equipped darkroom, large format view cameras, Hasselblad cameras, 35mm film and high resolution digital cameras.  Robert has created black and white images on silver gelatin paper produced in a conventional, wet chemical darkroom and  occasionally scans B&W negatives for manipulation in Photoshop and production of pigment inkjet prints.  Currently, his primary method of printing is archival inkjet printing from high resolution digital files using archival, acid free, photo rag paper.  He mounts and frames his prints using acid free board and he fabricates frames from oak, pine, cypress and other woods as well as metal.
    Robert routinely uses a star tracking equatorial mount for his astrophotography and a Stack Shot camera mount for a photo stacking technique for macro/micro photography.
    Robert lives on a farm with his wife, Alice, near the town of Battleboro in eastern North Carolina.  
Equipment and Techniques

Cameras:
Canham 45DLC with a variety of lenses from 58mm to 500mm
Hasselblad cameras with lenses from 40mm to 500mm
Nikon D850,  Z8 and Z7II (converted to IR) with lenses from 14mm to 800mm

Gitzo tripods

Lowepro backpacks

Really Right Stuff ballhead with RRS quick releases for all cameras

Pentax spot meter

Photo Stacking Mount
Cognisys StackShot and/or RRS macro focusing slide

Astrophotography Mount
Ioptron Skyguider Pro and Move-Shoot-Move NOMAD

Filters:   For B&W film often uses one or more of the following:
             polarizer, # 15 yellow, # 21 orange, #25 red, #29 red, # 58                 green

Film:   primarily Kodak 100Tmax 

Film Developer:  Kodak XTOL

Scanner:   Epson V750

Darkroom enlarger:  Beseler 45V-XL with Univeral 45 head
  Zone-6 4x5 with multicontrast head

Inkjet printer:   Epson 7570

Prints:   All silver gelatin prints are on fiber-based, heavy weight,  multigrade paper and archivally processed and toned with selenium for increased D-max and permanence.   All inkjet prints are printed with Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink on museum quality, 100% cotton rag paper or canvas. 


Copyright  Robert Cassanova 2022