the Robert
Morris Gallery

Robert J Morris.... After decades of interest in color photography, Robert Morris discovered the beauty, depth and breadth of black-and-white photographic imagery and the subtle range of tones it affords. Admiring the excellence of the photographs of Ansel Adams, he turned to former students of Adams (John Sexton, Howard Bond, Bruce Barnbaum, Dan Anderson, and Ron Wisner) for instruction and guidance.

Artist's Statement

"Failing the requisite talent for painting the images that reside in my mind's eye, I have turned to black and white photography to interpret those images. The major difficulty is the finding of those 'mind's eye' images in the real world to photograph and print them. 

The image of rowboats in a fog was carried in my mind for over six years before finding it early one August morning in 1991 at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. I titled this image "Misty Morning". The image titled "Voice in the Wilderness" emerged in 1999 when I read Ed Neal's poem about his friend. So I set up the scene in an alley in our home town.  The "Hands" triptych emerged after watching Donna play her bass violin in church Sunday after Sunday in 2004, studying her hands as they moved. Many of the images presented here were in my "mind's eye" long before becoming a reality in a photograph.

There are still some images in my mind that I am seeking and it seems that fewer are realized than are added over time. Only a few of my photographs are the result of finding a preconceived image. But the thrill of discovery and the excitement of individually printing each photograph the old fashioned way in my own darkroom to interpret the image bring me immeasurable joy.

Robert Morris

Emotions in Black and White, my first published book, is a compilation of 50 black and white photographs with the corresponding story of the background for each image. The book also contains a technical information table with the lens, aperture, shutter speed, filter and film development data for each image.

$32.95 includes postage for “media mail”; Indiana addresses add 7% for sales tax.