In our “Meet the Makers” series, we’ll introduce you to local personalities from each of the towns where Nest offices are located. These makers enrich our communities and color the landscape of our towns. For this installment, we’ll sit down with two photographers who share past and present photographs of the little big city that is Charlottesville, VA.
Ed Roseberry, Photographer
One of the first photographs Ed Roseberry ever snapped was of the Golden Gate Bridge from aboard a plane heading to Pearl Harbor. Roseberry was 18 and he had just been drafted into the Navy. Before leaving for duty, his father gifted him a small folding Kodak camera. He took photos of the Hawaiian landscapes, the naval base, the ships, and the men he was serving with. By the time he finished his tour and returned to the states, he was smitten with photography.
He returned to Charlottesville, Virginia, to resume his studies at UVA, and bought himself a Ciroflex, a Twin Lens Reflex camera. He saved up enough money to buy his own equipment and build himself a darkroom. He was completely self-taught and jokes that he learned by the seat of his pants, “I never told anyone about my mistakes, only about my achievements.”
Roseberry began capturing images for the UVA yearbook, and continued to do so for the next 30 years. He became the beloved local photographer, shooting not only UVA images, but Charlottesville cityscapes, weddings, portraits, and real estate photography. Photography became his passion, “I always wished I could paint like Rembrandt, but couldn’t. And I found that photography was an outlet to expand my thinking on art.”
Now, nearly 91 years old, and 14 cameras later, he still enjoys taking photographs. I ask him if his photos ever make him feel nostalgic about the past, about the Charlottesville of yesteryear. He pauses, and smiles, “Change is inevitable, it’s something that we all have to live with. We’re expanding as a nation. The old guard is moving along and making way for the new ones. I think Thomas Jefferson would agree, Charlottesville was a stunningly beautiful place then, and still is.”
Steve Trumbull, Photographer
Perhaps the new guard he is referring to is Steve Trumbull. A Charlottesville local since 1990, Trumbull has always had an interest in photography. Also self-taught, he learned to shoot on film, with a 35mm Canon. While producing real estate photography, he enjoyed the documenting of buildings, and became fascinated with the “then & now” perspective. Trumbull knew of Roseberry, and requested access to his archives. The two met and became fast friends with a mutual admiration for one another’s work. They began producing exhibits together, hosting slide shows, and creating web projects.
Often considered the Ed Roseberry of this generation, Trumbull revels in linking the two eras together, and has a deep appreciation for how fleeting things can be, “If we don’t get out and document right now, there are so many things that will be lost. It’s important to document and catalog that evolution.” He has begun compiling a massive archive of Charlottesville photography that incorporates the works of Ed Roseberry, his own work, and other images that haven’t previously been catalogued—photos lost in family albums, etc. He’s working to preserve these images and savors being able to link the images together and pinpoint the location of these discovered photographs.
“There’s a finite documentation of Charlottesville,” explains Trumbull. He aims to expand that documentation, capturing the spirit of Charlottesville to be enjoyed for generations to come.
To learn more about Ed an Steve, visit their website, cvilleimages.com.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
We ask each of our makers to share what’s in their toolbox—the five things they can’t live without:
1. Roseberry’s Rolleiflex with Metz Flash
2 – Roseberry’s Graflex Speed Graphic 4×5 Format Camera
3 – Trumbull’s Nikon D700 with 28-70mm Lens
4 – Tripod
5 – Lightbox
Roseberry and Trumbull will be producing a “Charlottesville: Then & Now” exhibit that shares Roseberry’s “Then” photos displayed alongside Trumbull’s “Now” photos, taken from the same angle or perspective. The exhibit will be in the gallery at City Space (location of Charlottesville Tomorrow) throughout the month of June, 2016. Click here to view a sneak peak of the exhibit, as shown in the Spring/Summer Issue of NEST Magazine.
The always delightful Ed Roseberry was recently interviewed about the exhibit – click here to view.