Biography

Tom Wise is a photographer currently living in New Mexico. Tom’s interest in photography was instilled by his father who loved nothing more than to photograph the prairies of Nebraska, then return to his basement darkroom to develop film and make silver gelatin prints.

Tom spent his adult life as a high school educator in the Omaha, Nebraska area. He returned to photography as he neared retirement. Initially, Tom’s plan was to focus on digital photography, taking classes at the local community college. The first class he took, was “Basic Analog Photography” where the medium was black and white film. This rekindled those memories of working in his father’s darkroom when he was much younger. Tom subsequently focused on analog photography and on his own, started working with alternative processes.

Initially, Tom taught himself how to make cyanotype and kallitype prints using available resources. Tom wanted to create prints with a wider palette so he enrolled in gum bichromate workshops taught by Christina Z. Anderson, and later, Diana Bloomfield. Since then, Tom has been creating monochromatic, duotone and full color prints using kallitype, cyanotype and gum bichromate processes.

LaSalle Mtns from Moab N.P., UT