By Vicki Gooch, '08 | Online Editor

Professor Tim Gerken talks about his photos on display in the library.  His photos demonstrate his soft-focus style.    

Photo by Lucinda Buck, '08

A Morrisville State College professor is giving the students and faculty the opportunity to look at his art work from a different angle than most photographers.

 Photos by Assistant Professor Tim Gerken of the Humanities Department are on display until Feb. 22. There will be a reception today at the library from 3 to 4:30 pm.

Gerken says he has been interested in photography since his early teens. His aunt was one if his inspirations, because she was a painter. “I couldn’t paint,” he says.    

Gerken says his fascination with photography is in its light and color. Black and white photography does not interest him.  Most of his photos are out of focus. The term is called soft focus, a deliberate slight blurring of a photo to give it a more prominent look. It gives the viewer the chance to look at the use of color. Gerken says he uses soft focus to change the audience’s perspective on what they thought they would see, and what they are really seeing.

Gerken photographs everything from the sky to flowers, trees, barns, people, buildings and signs. He says he does a lot of "drive-by shooting." While he is driving different places, he takes pictures out the window when something catches his eye.

Gerken says his photos are often blurry because life is blurry; you never know what is going to happen. With photos, you also never know what you are going to get-- what aspect you’re going to uncover about someone or something. “Soft focus keeps focus on light and color, less on the subject,” he says.

Gerken has had two showings. One was in Manhattan, and the other one was in Brooklyn. His shows were dictated by space and how many photos he could put out and how he presented them to the audience. “My dream is to be in a museum,” he says.

Gerken makes little stories with his photos; he puts some of his pictures in an order that makes it look like he is telling a story. “Even if others don’t understand my stories, I know that they are there. I do it for myself,” says Gerken. “I look at it and smile and see the little story I made.”

“Film is cheap; a good photo is not,” he says.