Eric Hammer

Eric Hammer was handed his first camera by his artist father at fourteen.

"I was excited but I didn't know what to shoot.   "I figured a good starting point would be to try to get my girlfriend to pose,but she was't game and proved camera shy.  So I went to work and quickly blew through my first roll of film in an afternoon--, a little too fast for my father's liking. A.E. Hammer was an art educator, award winning painter and photographer. When I entered his darkroom, that was a delicious new world for me and I felt at home right away. Tight, bathed in red light there was a lot of fun science going on and I loved everything about it.  Finally we developed the negatives, he raised them to the light and he said, What the hell is this?  You shot license plates...?  Also what's is this?"  cautious pride filled me if not him. "That's the inside of a carburetor, Dad."

The lecture on expensive film apparently did no good. To this day, more often than not, I still gravitate to the tighter shot that evokes some kind of mystery or mood . Like most artists I love the hunt, the solitude and the meditative process of stalking the shot or prepping a set.

Eric is also an award winning educator who serves on his town's arts and culture council and is a volunteer and avid supporter of 5 Points Gallery in Torrington Connecticut. His next one-man show in Torrington's Annex Gallery will be presented in October, 2019.

For contact: rehammer@optonline.net