Gregory Holden

May Featured Artists – Missouri Arts Council

I started in photography in 1971 with a polaroid land camera. I had just been diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes and had spent time in a hospital bed looking through copies of Life magazine. A photograph by Larry Burrows named Reaching Out propelled me into photography.

   Today I use Nikon equipment and have not gone mirrorless because I know how to use my two primary cameras, a D500 and a D850 and too many lenses to list.

   I do not use Photoshop. It is a wonderful tool that can create magnificent digital art, but I try to complete an image in camera.

  I primarily photograph around my home in Missouri and almost always Nature. I really enjoy shooting from my kayak. Knock on wood while saying the only item that has ever gone overboard was a lens hood. 

  I do not place titles on photographs. I do not want to influence what anyone might see or feel.

  When I take part in an Art Show, I display what is called Metal Prints. A Metal Print is a photograph infused into a piece of aluminum. It is highly fade resistant and is much lighter than a typical framed photograph. I always display a white base metal print.

   While photographing in the Natural world I try to blend in and not be noticed. I’ve carried that along into my regular life and can’t stand the use of the word “I”. But to tell my story and about my photography I simply have to. 

  I hope you enjoy looking through my photographs. Please contact me with any questions and I will respond!        

GREGORY HOLDEN (gjholden.com)

Here are highlights and links to all our earlier artists since we started the Missouri Featured Artists program last December. There’s music, photography, poetry, storytelling, fashion, paintings from wax to watercolors, metal and glass and ceramic sculptures, and so much more as we celebrate the diversity and depth of Missouri creativity.