About
Robert C. Bishop
When I shot a photograph, I looked for contrast and whether it showed something in a spectacular way. I often took aerial shots to show the best view of a place. I tried to place the most interesting part of the photo in the middle of what I was framing. I looked at colors and shapes, the subject matter and the way the light reflected on the subject. Ansel Adams inspired me to pursue photography as a profession.
I am interested in showing the public more of what I have been photographing during the past 60 years. I have captured Colorado landscapes during fall, winter, summer and spring. My photos show the different architecture in various ski areas and how growth has changed the landscape. I have covered a range of sites and history in the process.
My photographs try to capture the flavor of a town or particular area.
Some of the subjects I have photographed include Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake, Redstone Castle, Colorado Yule Marble Quarry, Glenwood Springs Hot Springs Pool, Glenwood Canyon, Colorado National Monument, Grand Mesa, the Bookcliffs and Mount Garfield, DeBeque Canyon, Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train, ski slopes, fall color, wildflowers, street scenes, lakes, Colorado River rafting, balloon festivals, Arches National Park in Utah, Yosemite National Park in California, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, historic Wheeler Opera House in Aspen and the Aspen Music tent.
Robert C. Bishop Bio
Education: Art, design and architecture courses at Stanford University,
Palo Alto, CA 1950-51
Photography Workshops: Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park, CA in the early 1950s and Aspen, CO in 1951. Minor White in California in the 1950s.
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
1943
Professional Experience: late 1950s to present - continue to sell or have sold mostly landscape photographic images in Grand Junction, Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Montrose, Delta, Crested Butte, Gunnison, Steamboat Springs, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Basalt, Snowmass, Aspen, Redstone, Marble, Leadville, Denver, Colorado Springs, Estes Park and Vail. My images have appeared on postcards, note cards, posters, brochures, slides, placemats, 8X10 photos, in calendars, magazines and books.
Photographed the first photo conference in the United States in October 1951 in Aspen at the Hotel Jerome. Photographers who attended and were photographed include: Ansel Adams, Minor White, Eliot Porter, Ferenc Berko, Dorothea Lange, Laura Gilpin and Berenice Abbott, among many others. Beaumont and Nancy Newhall also attended.
Outside Colorado: Consultant to Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park. Sold photographic images of Yosemite at the gallery from the late 1970s to the 1980s.
Moab, Utah - Arches National Park – sold photographic images – 1970s-1990s.
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. sold my Snowmass Balloon Festival image in the 1980s.
Sun Valley, Idaho – mid 1970s. Worked with Doreen Dorward to launch her postcard business.
Exhibits: One of 55 photographers with photos in The Great West - Real/Ideal at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1977. This Smithsonian exhibit traveled for two years and included a book of exhibition photos, including a "tipped in" postcard of my work as a frontspiece.
Publications
Magazines:
Pictures appeared at fairly regular intervals in national magazines Life and Look in the 1950s.
Life Magazine June 8, 1953: Photo of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.
Front Cover Photo for The Rainbow Magazine’s winter edition 1952 of wild deer in Yosemite National Park. It was the employee magazine of General Aniline & Film Corp.
Books:
Aperture Magazine Anthology - The Minor White Years 1952-1976. Published 2012. My photo of several photographers at the photo conference at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen is in this book.
American Ski Resort: Architecture, Experience and Style by Margaret Supplee Smith – 2012. My photos include the Aspen music tent and Hotel Jerome.
Guide To Historic Aspen And The Roaring Fork Valley by Sarah J. Pearce and Roxanne Effin -1990. My photo of Aspen and fireworks on the mountain appeared on the front cover.
The Aspen Idea by Sidney Hyman – 1975. My group photo of the photographers at the first photo conference in the United States was used on a two-page spread.
USA In Full Color by Hans W. Hannau – 1972. Four of my Colorado photos and a photo of Glacier Bay, Alaska were used in this book.
Colorado, Panorama-Books Series by Hans W. Hannau. Six of my photos were used for the book.
Calendar:
The Colorado National Monument 2012 calendar – two of my photos were chosen.
Other:
Mountain Chalet Aspen – Two large photos of the hotel in March 1965 during an epic snowstorm hang outside the lobby.
Photo of Silverton, CO used for Colorado Governor John & Ann Love's 1965 Christmas card.
Strater Hotel Durango, CO - Showed a 3-D slide show with two projectors called “Short Haul to Yesterday.” The show featured photos of the Narrow Gauge train and landscapes of the area. Early to mid 1960s. The show is now in DVD format.
Awards:
- Six of the following awards were from the Postcard Distributors Association of North America. Member 1970s – 1990s.
- 1988 – Award of Excellence 4X6 Aerial View Postcard of the Year.
- 1987 – Day View Postcard Second Place.
- 1985 – Postcard of the Year Aerial View.
- 1984 – POWDER, the Skier's Magazine, Best action photo of the year (skier crashing through gate at Aspen World Cup) two page photo spread in magazine.
- 1982 – Day View of the Year.
- 1979 – Postcard of the Year Night View.
- 1979 – Postcard of the Year Composite.
- 1940 – First Place and Honorable Mention in Amateur Photography contest sponsored by the Muscatine Journal in Muscatine, Iowa.
Additional Information:
Born in Muscatine. Muscatine High School Yearbook Photographer. Had a darkroom in high school where I learned to develop black and white photography.