GUESTBOOK COMMENTS
2012-2015 (Most recent comment shown first)

Beautiful Pictures
~ Pamela, Photography Fan, Marina, CA

I was deeply touched by reading Barbara's commentary on "Navigation Without Numbers". My wife and I adopted two infant children from South Korea, and we've often imagined the heartbreak felt by their mothers as they separated. Now that I know the story, "Navigation Without Numbers" will forever depict this separation for me.
~ Paul Cotter, Photographer, San Francisco Bay Area www.paulcotterphotography.com

Thank you very much! My Dad and I viewed and enjoyed the Wynn Bullock: Revelations exhibit and your lecture at Atlanta's High Museum of Art on October 10, 2014. This website is another delightful expression of brilliance. Wonderful! With respect and gratitude...
~ Kim, Atlanta, GA

Regarding your "Exhibition Highlights" Viewing Gallery, the new section covering the High Museum's Wynn Bullock: Revelations project is really superb. It gives a real sense of actually being there at the exhibit – the setting, the arrangement, the flow from room to room. The multi-faceted section is easy to navigate, too.
~ Peter Miller, artist of photogravure etchings, Kamakura, Japan www.kamprint.com

Wynn Bullock has been one of my favorite photographers for as long as I can remember. My wife and I vacationed in Atlanta this year specifically for the ASO's performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and to see the High Museum's Wynn Bullock exhibit. The ... Oct. 2 performance of Beethoven's Ninth was canceled, but the Wynn Bullock exhibit did not disappoint! In fact, being able to see so much of Bullock's work all in one place really did make everything better. I hope this exhibit travels. I would love to see it again. And if you can't make it to Atlanta, buy the book, Wynn Bullock: Revelations. The title is apropos!
~ John Henley, Jr., Northwest Arkansas

An American master. Seems he got a late start in photography, but got caught up. Ahead of his time.
~ Marc Mary

Wynn Bullock has been the one photographer that has inspired me more than any other. I got into photography in the early 80's which is when I first saw Wynn's work. I always wanted to produce work like his but have never succeeded. The desire is still there and gives me something to aspire to.
~ Richard Hamilton, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia

The Wynn Bullock: Revelations catalogue arrived today and it took my breath away. What a beautiful publication on so many levels. Not only is the design of the book striking, it is a fitting representation of Wynn's work. Congratulations to you and to everyone who worked to make the publication come to life. Bravo!
~ Lindsey Kouvaris, Curator of Exhibits and Collections, de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, CA

Wynn's work is amazing and deeply inspiring. I am new to a more serious exploration of photography, 53 this past January, yet, like Wynn, I have had a love of light, in all of its forms, all of my life. I love his relationship with light, his intuitive relationship with his subjects. I look forward to learning more about Wynn Bullock and my hope is that I find he has written books on his style. Thank you for sharing his work.
~ Nellie Moore, Explorer of Heart, Contemplation, Humanity, Compassion, Nature, Light, Wisconsin www.cantadorallc.com

I absolutely loved the Wynn Bullock exhibit [at the High Museum]. Those photos!!! The accompanying text! What a coup d'etat! When I met with curator Brett Abbott over a year ago, he spoke about working on this exhibit, and I had no idea how beautiful the whole experience would be. Wynn's exquisite images, Brett's intuitively, deeply felt descriptions, and the brilliantly chosen quotations – all of it touched me on a real heart level. I am so thankful for Brett's shining light and his bringing Wynn's work to all of us! Bravo!!
~ Elyse Defoor, artist, Atlanta, GA. www.ElyseDefoor.com

I was in Atlanta for about 22 hours to see the Wynn Bullock show…and I am still gasping for breath. Utterly spectacular; I only wish I'd had more time to savor it. I remember a number of his photographs from when I was a kid getting Modern and Popular Photography magazines, but… I never understood the magnitude and quality of his work – and simply spectacular printing. The show has made him my current hero…along with the more obvious masters – Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, Minor White, and Ray Metzker. And I knew nothing of the color explorations. I hope there is a plan for the show to travel; the world beyond Atlanta deserves to see it. My heartiest congratulations!
~ Alan Chimacoff, photographer and architect, Princeton, NJ www.chimacoff.com

Love Child on Forest Road photo. Great photography! Thanks.
~ Peter Bundock, Lindendale, Australia

Intriguing images!
~ Mary Ann Howell, multimedia artist and art teacher, Bixby, OK. www.artbymaryann.org

I was a student studying fine art photography at New Mexico State University in the mid-1970s when Wynn died. A few months later my professor Richard Wickstrom showed me several original photographs by Wynn and they were stunning. Wynn was a great printer as well as a great photographer – one of the greatest. The prints were only $500-$1000 at the time which was a bargain. I was a poor student, however, and couldn't afford to buy one so they went to someone else. I told myself that someday I would own one and I'm now interested in the newly printed images from the Bullock family estate. In November I'm retiring from my state government job as a photographer and exhibit designer at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. I want to buy an estate print as a retirement gift to myself and I'm totally looking forward to hanging one of Wynn's beautiful images on my wall to treasure forever.
~ Ron Keller, photographer, Alamogordo, NM

I just received a copy of the "Wynn Bullock Revelations" book that I preordered from Amazon last December. The book is absolutely beautiful and exactly what I have been looking for for many years. Wynn's photography has always been an inspiration to me and gives me great pleasure to view over and over again. I want to thank you and everybody involved in creating this book. It will be a valued presence in my home.
~ Dennis Stefani, Carnation, WA

The writer of this comment owns a print of Wynn's image Navigation without Numbers, 1957. He was asked to produce a statement about it for an exhibition which included his print. Here is what the image means to him:

There are those who believe that this scene was staged by Bullock, but the story of its making, which was told to me by his daughter, is the following: He often worked with this particular model, Marilyn, who was a struggling single mother barely making ends meet. After shooting for a time, they were taking a break when Bullock turned around to find the mother resting at the edge of the bed, with the baby asleep in the middle and the cover of the book Navigation Without Numbers facing forward. He quickly made the exposure.
 The mother, praying, asleep or slumped in exhaustion, is the berth (birth) from which the baby has been set adrift to float on a black sea. One cannot help but wonder where the tides of life will take this child. Ultimately our feeling is one of distance and separation - that sense that no matter how close we are, even mother and child, we are each on our individual, separate journey. And, though the child is a relative new born, there is an undercurrent of death.
 This photo is one of those rare times when the stars align and all of the visual elements converge to create an image that goes beyond the mere objects and people depicted. I've always thought that this was one of the great images in the history of California photography.
~ Dennis Reed, Professor Emeritus of Art, Los Angeles Valley College

A person may think they have seen amazing photography. Great composition. Unbridled creativity and exploration. But when you sit down with [the book] Wynn Bullock: Revelations you want to become a better student of photography. You will view photography with a different eye…and expect more. Wynn Bullock's photography is timeless and pure. You will find yourself drinking in the beauty. After receiving Wynn Bullock: Revelations from UT Press, all we can say is we are gobsmacked. It is a profoundly beautiful collection of work. Not often does a book capture the work of an artist like Wynn Bullock, but I must say this comes close and is a joy to have in hand. We cannot wait to see the show at the High Museum and wonder if they will allow overnight guests. It will take hours to drink it all in. You should be so proud. Thank you for sharing this wonderful gift with us. "Revelations" was the perfect title.
~ Connie and Jerry Rosenthal, Houston, TX. www.rfotofolio.org

Truly a Master in every sense of the word.
~ Arthur Smiley, Costa Rica

I just acquired a poster of "Stark Tree" from Connie Bullock which I fell in love with the moment I laid eyes upon it.  It is now hanging proudly in my home. What an inspiration Wynn Bullock is!
~ Liz Bullock, Yucca Valley, CA

I miss your monthly "featured image" audiocast. I hope you will restart it soon. I enjoy learning more about Mr. Bullock's photography through these insightful audiocasts. Thank you very much and best wishes to you all in 2014!
~ Ross Togashi, Honolulu, Hawaii

Yesterday drop by a bookstore saw a photography book which cover is a nude girl lay on the forest with 3 trees trunk. The photo really stop me and make me look at it for a while, then i see the Photographer named "Wynn Bullock" and totally have no idea who he is. And the book been wrapped where i not able to flip through it. But at last i decided to buy the book because of the main cover photo that capture my attention. After reach home i unwrap the book and it make me unstoppable to read the whole book and all the photos inside really impress me. This is the photography book that i been looking for all this time. And finally i know who is Wynn Bullock, he not only a great photographer but a great philosopher to me. His photographs not only a great arts but send a very strong deeply message within itself. So glad i can meet Wynn Bullock in my life. He is definitely the one that i am searching for.
~ Yew Mee Foo, online marketer, Subang Jaya, Malaysia. www.facebook.com/ymfoo

In homage to Wynn, these lines of William Butler Yeats, from The Wanderings of Oisin, which, in my opinion and feeling, light up the heart of his inspiration and the contours of his poetic Land: " Where many a trumpet-twisted shell/ That in immortal silence sleeps/ Dreaming of her own melting hues,/ Her golds, her ambers, and her blues,/ Pierced with soft light the shallowing deeps."
~ Vito Merola, art lover, Salerno, Italy

I have been looking at and showing Wynn Bullock's work to my students at Pratt Institute for 30 years. As a child in the Midwest, I escaped to fields and lakes to daydream. Later, as a landscape photographer, I found inspiration in Bullock's images as places I wanted to inhabit and as ways of teaching students the intimacy of how to see the world around us. I am so thrilled to write this. His work has been like a close friend that has kept me grounded in what really matters in life. I am forever grateful for his profound work.
~ Sarah van Ouwerkerk, New York. www.vanouwerkerkpictures.com

At 46 years old, I am retraining and doing A level photography. One of the photographers I had to study was your father Wynn Bullock, and I think his work is truly amazing. I have been on your site for 1 hour and 30 minutes now and really love it. I also enjoy taking landscapes and seascapes, and we are currently studying shape, so I am hoping I may be able to recreate the Monterey pier which is amazing. Thanks for doing this site and keeping new photographers in touch with what happened in the past. It is very interesting to hear why your father took certain photos. Thanks again.
~ Corinne Clifford, photography student at Brockenhurst College, Hampshire, England

I think Wynn Bullock's photos are inspiring.  They go right along with what I am currently working on as a photographer.  I had never seen any photos by Mr. Bullock until now and my work is on the right path after viewing some of his work. I am an abstract photographer as well and am glad that now I have someone to learn from such as Mr. Bullock. Thank you. 
~ Rusty Riddell, professional photographer, Hudson Falls, New York. www.adkcp.photoshelter.com

My father, Tom Miller use to take all of us up to Sandy's place on Partington Ridge. We would play on the property, target shoot with Dad's 22 and I recall there was a donkey or a goat that would walk into the house. Sandy appeared to be a big man although everyone was big to me back then. He had long hair and a bushy beard. He was always very kind. We always enjoyed visiting there. My brother, Tom Miller, and sister, Teresa Bradford, still live on the Monterey Peninsula. Teresa is still in Big Sur.
~ Sharon Crall
[Editor's Note: Sandy Justice was the caretaker of the Jaime de Angulo ranch where many of Wynn’s photos were taken. You can read more about Sandy in our Featured Image commentaries for March and December 2012]

I loved the Twin Oaks photo as soon as I saw it. I was visiting Wynn and Edna in their home on my quest to find a photo for an album that I'd produced with friends from Big Sur. It became the cover photo for my new record company, Peaceable Records, back in 1972. I still love the image and have found several areas of interest... discovered them, over the decades of viewing.
~ Randy Nauert, music and entertainment entrepreneur, Malibu, CA www.nauert.com

Your commentary for the Featured Image Under Monterey Wharf, 1969 is so beautiful and captures exactly what I remember growing up on the wharf. Thank you.
~ Mary Alice Cerrito Fettis, President of the Fisherman’s Wharf Association, Monterey, CA

I love Wynn Bullock's work. I'm currently a student at Oakland Community College pursuing a Photography Degree and I chose to do my inspiration paper on Mr. Bullock. I did use this website as a reference with great success. So thank you for his display and thank you for this site.
~ Tiffany B. Mckellar, photography student, Royal Oak, Michigan

Since I grew up in Carmel for most of my childhood, I was very lucky to meet Ansel and the Westons. But, somehow, it's been Wynn's images that have seemed to stick in my memory the longest. He always intrigued me…inspired me to think a lot more when I viewed art. And I am proud to say that I became a baby brownie user and eventually graduated to large format. After all these years, I'm still photographing because people like Edna [Wynn's wife] kept Wynn's images alive… showing us first hand… Thank you!
~ Susan Huber, photographer, Salt Springs Island, British Columbia     www.susanhuber.com

Have always enjoyed the photography of time/space of Wynn Bullock, b/w or color.
~ Jeremy Freshwater     www.lorienborzoi.smugmug.com

Thank you for the reminders of how unflinchingly beautiful our world is, and how worthwhle it is to take the time and effort involved in seeing and sharing the beauty.
~ Jeannie Petrinovich, Fire Lookout, Monterey, Sierras, Seattle area, and other locations.

I was privileged to attend a weekend workshop, "The Nude in Nature", taught by Wynn Bullock and assistants some time in the mid-1970s. What can I say? Educational and entertaining! ~ James Pollock, Palo Alto, CA

Wonderful. Particularly enjoyed Barbara's commentary. ~ Deb Miller, Pacific Grove, CA

I really enjoy Wynn's photographs. ~ Donnie Britt

You guys did a wonderful job of making our vacation the best it could be! And, I have personally taken an interest in Wynn's work and your pursuit to make it worldwide. I've visited some websites (including this one) and find it fascinating!
~ Mike Calhoun, civil engineer and Bullock-Wilson nephew-in-law, Asheville, NC

Terrific images. I have admired Mr. Bullock's contribution to the medium of photography for many years.
~  Robin Azevedo

Dear Barbara,  Thank you so much for your vivid, loving explanation of your father's  beautiful photo Color Light Abstraction 1075. As red is one of my best loved colors, this is giving me inspirations for new paintings and photos that I will do.  Best regards ~  Brigitte Hoppstock, Germany      www.atelier-hoppstock.de

I was enrolled in a Friends of Photography workshop in (I believe) 1976. One of our classmates was Edna Bullock. She invited some of us to come over to the house where we spent hours looking over Wynn's contact sheets and getting a short tour of the backyard and the darkroom. We were also shown some objects that Wynn had photographed that were in the house. It was a truly wonderful and special evening, an evening that I replay in my mind frequently. I have to compliment the makers and keepers of this website, you have done a great job! It's always nice to see a photographer's work and read some relevant commentary about the image and how it was made. Thanks again!
~ Leo Wesson, Photographer/Videographer     www.leowesson.com

I remember, as a child of 5 or 6, seeing my grandmother's photo book The Family of Man. I didn't know anything about those pictures except that I loved them. And every time I visited my grandmother, I would take out that book and spend hours with it. One of my favorite photos was Child in Forest. I looked at that photo and saw myself sleeping peacefully in a beautiful lush forest. It was one of my favorites images in the book.
~ Nora Jupiter, Hudson Valley, New York

Thanks for your kindness in allowing me to publish in a forthcoming exhibit catalogue one of my aquarelle paintings based on Edna Bullock's photograph Michaelle with Scarf, 1986. I shall enjoy reading about your parents and keeping in touch. I am sure that I will find more inspiration for my art work from both of these great American artists Mr. and Mrs. Wynn Bullock.
~ Brigitte Hoppstock, Germany      www.atelier-hoppstock.de

This is just to let you know that I received the DVD [Wynn Bullock: Photographer]. I've watch it once so far. It's a very intimate glimpse into your father's life and work, and is particularly moving toward the end when he talks about his own mortality. I shall undoubtedly watch it several more times and let it sink in. It's wonderful to see.
~ Nigel Dean, Southampton, England

Re the March 2013 Newsletter:  Beautifully done representation of Wynn's work, Barbara and Gene, and wonderfully done newsletter.  I really appreciated receiving a copy and being able to walk through the works showcased and the narrative with each.  What a treat! Thank you so much!!
~ Donna Vaughan, Monterey, CA

Re the March 2013 Featured Image Navigation without Numbers, 1957:  It wasn't until after Sandy had moved, in 1969 I believe, that Walter Chappell took me up to Partington Ridge.  A very special place and Wynn's image is a very special photograph.
~ Blaine Ellis, photographer, San Francisco www.photoeye.com/blaineellis

I love the Child on Forest Road, 1958 pic! I was drawn to it in an antique store. It has hung on my wall for years, and I still enjoy it tremendously. Upon discovering your website, I was excited to see more of his work. Awesome.
~ Patricia Cameron, Office Manager, Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada

I greatly admire the Wynn Bullock Photography website, and as Ansel Adams' former book publisher and later a trustee at the Friends of Photography, it was a joy to return via the recent Newsletter photograph to Ansel & Virginia's home in Carmel Highlands (October 2012 issue). I never had the good fortune of meeting Wynn, an extraordinary man and photographer.  By the way, Rosario is perched on the table used for many years by Phyllis Donohue, Ansel's superb print spotter. Thanks for these warm memories and ongoing insight into present-day photography!
~ Tim Hill, Editor, Publisher, and Fine Art Book Consultant    www.artbookpress.com

I lived in Dublin in 1979/83. I remember going to a photo gallery by the half-penny bridge by the Liffey. I think it was the only one in Dublin...went there a lot....and there was an exhibition of Wynn Bullock...pieces of stick/stalks in the snow I remember? He was an influence, amongst others, but one of the most memorable. Black & white simplicity… and I remember taking loads of snaps that winter just like it.
~ Barrie Marshall

AMAZINGLY wholesome pics !!!
~ Es Castillo, Spain

While each of the many photographic greats contributed something valuable and necessary to the medium... Stieglitz, the Westons, Minor, Ansel, Duane Michals... none have contributed as much as Wynn to the search for and revealing of the world of spirit in which we all live, that goes mostly unseen - a world which takes a receptive, intuitive and hungering soul to dig into beyond the merely superficial. Wynn is the only photographer I've known to so effectively explore this so meaningful a subject, yea the very core of our existence. And the fact that Brooks Jensen speaks so highly of him is a testament - because Brooks is at the cutting edge of photography... he's our Stieglitz... our visionary, and Lenswork is our Camera Work. I also am very grateful to you for carrying on this important legacy in a world so in need of inspiration and revelation of this magnitude. Thank you, thank you for all your good work.
~ Joel Belmont, photographer, Colorado www.joelbelmont.com

In my readings, Wynn Bullock was often criticized for being "too philosophical". I say, "Go for it." That's photography I appreciate.
~ Todd Frederick, Dos Palos, CA

I have long been a huge fan of Wynn's art, and have several books of his in my library.  He has influenced me in no small way, as a visionary who elevated my photographic aspirations from image-making upwards into the realm of pure light.
~ Morgan Fisher, musician and light painter, Japan   

What a treasure it is for you, Barbara, to have such an illustrious father. He in turn produced a daughter who so beautifully writes about him and his work, seeing that it is savored worldwide. She in turn married a sterling man who so ably assists. Thus The Plan goes on. All such beauty to behold!
~ Bev Kahn, Grass Valley, CA

This order is for my third Wynn Bullock book and if there were to be a fourth, I'd be all over that as well. Wynn is at the pinnacle of my Pantheon of great photographers, and I wish you continuing success in bringing his work to an ever increasing and more appreciative audience.
~ Laurence Segil, Highland Park, IL

I love talking about Wynn Bullock's photographs perhaps more than any other photographer - that's how important his work is to me and how much inspiration I've taken from his examples over the years.
~ Brooks Jensen, photographer and editor/publisher of LensWork www.lenswork.com

It is really wonderful to see that Wynn's work is getting a larger and appreciative audience. From the earliest times, seeing his small portfolios at Edward’s when I was a child, Wynn was a giant – mystical, experimenting and always questioning.
~ Merg Ross, San Francisco Bay Area photographer and son of photographer Donald Ross www.mergross.com

I started studying photography at Foothill/DeAnza colleges which is where I met photo instructor Marion Patterson and, through her, learned more about Wynn. His work had a spirit and depth to it that I realized I was far too young to fully understand or appreciate. But it captured my imagination and still influences my perception of other photographers' work. Wynn's images stood out from his contemporaries. It is unfortunate that I began my photographic education after his untimely death. I would have very much loved to study under him either through classes or workshops.
~ Chuck Trotter, photographer, Tennessee www.charlestrotter.com

Ordering the DVD [Wynn Bullock: Photographer] is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I really love Wynn's work. I never had the chance to meet him, but when I attended the Ansel Adams Workshops in the late 1970s, I heard a lot of good things said about him. Also about the same time, I attended another workshop when Al Weber and Morley Baer introduced me to his work and said he wasn't a photographer, but rather a philosopher!
~ Rick Tapio, Downers Grove, IL

I have received the beautiful book [Wynn Bullock: Color Light Abstractions]. I will today sit down and spend some time taking in Wynn's exquisite observations and technical mastery. Wynn is a most remarkable artist and teacher for me.
~ Darr Almeda, photographer, Florida

I started studying all I could about the old ways of doing photography…went to Amazon looking for all the classics…and one of them was Darkroom from Lustrum Press. Wynn Bullock was the first in that book to talk about his methods, detailing how he produced some of his famous photographs…. Later I got the Wynn Bullock 55 Phaidon book about him that I absolutely love. More recently I developed an interest in him again, as a source of inspiration and that's when I discovered the wonderful website and all your lovely work in preserving his memory and imagery. Right now I am waiting to receive Photography: A Way of Life…the DVD Wynn Bullock: Photographer. Let There Be Light is one of my favorite photographs!
~ Raul Pires Coelho, photographer, architect, teacher, Portugal

While reading a photo e-zine, I came across one of Wynn's quotes that I now use as part of my signature block: What you see is real but only on the particular level to which you've developed your sense of seeing. You can expand your reality by developing new ways of perceiving. Intrigued by the quote, I searched "Wynn Bullock" and found a whole new world of photography to appreciate. His understanding of the concept of "time and space" was far ahead of the thinking of that era.
~ Kent Nelson, photographer and fellow seeker

For twenty years I have created art that combines Haiku with photography. For me, Wynn Bullock is a very important Master both in his thinking and in his photographs.
~ Jean-Louis d'Abrigeon, poet and photographer, France

I have a combined career as an academic botanist with activities as photographer and abstract painter. I discovered [Wynn's] photographs in the 1970s and was particularly impressed by those of details of trees and rocks. What his work gave me was an…appreciation of the importance of light and the urge to photograph what we pass by without seeing. Ever since I bought my copy of the Phaidon 55 book, it has lived on my dining table and I look at the later images, from page 99 onwards every day - I find them truly inspirational. Although my photographs bear no overt resemblance to Wynn's, I like to think that at least a little of the quality and spirit of his images have seeped through into mine and secretly nourished them.
~ David L. Smith, England

The book [Wynn Bullock: Color Light Abstractions] arrived a few days ago and I have spent joyful time with it. In a word OUTSTANDING. I love the images, the commentary, the design, the quality of the reproductions and the warm, friendly feeling of looking at and turning the pages. You and your crew have done a great job and a real service to the photographic community. Thanks. I will recommend it to my friends.
~ Richard Zakia, photographer, writer, and teacher, North Carolina (written before he passed away in the spring of 2012)

I'm so glad that Wynn's work has an online presence. Thank you. His artwork and ideas are such an inspiration to my own work.
~ Gavin Lyons, photographer, Austria. www.glyons.at

There is a human need, it seems to me, to seek some sort of contact with those we esteem. Seeing Wynn Bullock and hearing him talk in the film [Wynn Bullock: Photographer] allowed a kind of meeting with him that I value deeply.
~ Paul Dorahy, Australia