Stanley Burgin
A True Virtual Backgrounds Pioneer
Stanley Burgin is 79 years old. He still operates his portrait studio in
Mansfield
England
, about 14 miles from
Nottingham
. Without a doubt,
Stanley
has always been a true photographic artist, pursuing the creation of
unique portrait images for his clients. He always sought to bring
the most innovative technology and methods to his studio. This is
what prompted him to look into a brand new concept back in 1981.
It was the Scene Machine from
the USA
.
He had heard about the Scene Machine and he immediately hooked up with
the UK Scene Machine distributor, Peter Stanhope. Once he saw it
and tried it, he knew he had to own one for his studio.
Stanley
was one of the very first international Virtual Backgrounds
customers. Back then, it was a very primitive product compared to
today. There was no special coatings on the screen and no
Blackscreen to help avoid washout from the studio lights. The
projector had to be carefully manually aligned. The screen was
made up of 24 inch wide strips of reflective material. Many
photographers complained back then that they just couldn’t make it
work.
Stanley
didn’t know that other photographers were having a hard time and often
giving up. So, he just took his talent, his determination, and
for the past 27 years, the Scene Machine has been and still is a key
part of his studio. He very seldom works without it. When his
original machine was stolen 12 years ago, he replaced it with what is
today called the Scene Machine Universal. When digital became
popular,
Stanley
ordered a special revolver to convert his Scene Machine to digital camera use.
It didn’t take
Stanley
long to master his Scene Machine. He was using it with customers
the day after he received it, and he is still proud of those first
efforts.
Stanley
state, “I found that some photographers use their Scene Machine once or
twice and when they come up against a little problem, they don’t bother
to overcome. They don’t persevere. I just don’t understand
them. The Scene Machine is so inspirational. There isn’t
much creativity in a studio without a Scene Machine. The Scene
Machine brings you anything and everything you want - abstracts,
patterns, scenes - absolutely anything! Without the Scene Machine
the studio business is boring and repetitive.”
Many photographers in
England
have been specializing in solid white backgrounds. While
Stanley
will do an occasional high key, he clearly sees white backgrounds as
old fashioned and very limiting in creativity. Stanley says, “I
use to do white backgrounds back in the 50s. Plain white is so
boring, really. It seems that every photographer does white
background photographs and not much else. That’s no way to be
creative.”
Stanley
’s
camera room is only 17' x 17' and yet he is able to do entire family
groups. He has learned to sometimes position his subjects only
inches from the background so he can get maximum depth. According
to Stanley, “I don’t get any washout; I just keep an eye on it.”
"When I have a little time in the evenings, I get inspiration from my
Scene Machine. I take the camera off the machine and just look at
images through the machine, where the camera normally would go. I
look at different scenes and imagine in my mind where and how I would
place a subject. Sometimes I use the whole scene; other times
only part of it. This is the best way to imagine the poses, so I
am really ready when a customer is standing in front of my camera.”
Stanley
may be getting older and supposedly retired 11 years ago, but he
certainly has not lost is vigor for photography. Three years ago,
he went entirely digital and is continually looking for new ways to use
his Scene Machine. He is an avid reader of The Backgrounder every month and is thrilled with many of the new ideas he sees there such as Diane Wilson’s fairy fantasy portraits.
Stanley
concluded his interview by saying, “I do 100% of my work with the Scene
Machine. There is no need for anything else. Why would I
want to work without it? I feel lost without my Scene
Machine. Without it, there is something missing. Many of my
customers come to me because of the Scene Machine. Obviously they
like it or they would not come."
Stanley Burgin has
played a very important role with our company by showing us, years ago,
that wonderful high grade work could be created with the Scene
Machine. Whereas
Stanley
finds his Scene Machine to be inspirational, we find
Stanley
and his work with the Scene Machine to be highly inspirational.
Thank you Stanley Burgin for making our products shine so bright over
there across the pond.
Shortly
after getting his first Scene Machine, Stanley submitted a portrait of
a young engaged couple with a projected warm fireplace background for
the Kodak Gold Award. The next year, Stanley submitted another
portrait again won the Kodak Gold Award. He was later admitted to the
Kodak Gold Circle for his Scene Machine artistry.
In the late 80s, Stanley applied for licentiale membership in the
Association of Master Photographers of Great Britain. A panel of
judges reviewed Stanley’s work, all done with the Scene Machine Virtual
Backgrounds system, and he was immediately awarded Associate
Membership. It was the very first time a photographer was granted
Associate Membership with images that were all created with the Scene
Machine. It was highly likely that none of the judges ever
realized that the Scene Machine was involved in the creation of the
images.
Marian Oles, Henry Oles and Stanley Burgin receiving one of his many awards for photographic artistry
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