Portfolio
a half century of photography
syracuse 1969 fine arts faculty
fantasy illustration
people
homeless men
Abstractions
Each image marks a place in time that can never be recreated. We grow in the memory of those very people and places, living vicariouly through every experience.
These images are a selection from a photographic project undertaken in 1969 of the entire Fine Arts Faculty. At the time Prisco was studying photography at the Samuel Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University while majoring in Fine Art/Painting. The work of Arnold Newman and Annie Lebovitz greatly influenced his vision.
Syracuse University
Fine Arts Faculty 1969
In my approach to portraiture I look for the timeless and universal qualities in the people who sit for me. I am not so interested in their physical appearance as how they communicate through it. Through every age and every place, we must certainly realize that we are all the same, but paradoxically all very different. Therin lies the moment of magic a camera can possess.
People
These photographs are a selection from a project on homeless men undertaken pro-bono for the Wheeler Rescue Mission in Indianapolis. The mission provides clothing, meals and a place to sleep out of the cold for homeless men. I am captivated by the true friendship the men have for each other and the dignity they maintain in spite of the hardship they endure. the images were made on 8x10 film and contact printed.
Homeless Men 1990
Commercial work &
Fantasy Illustrations
Before Photoshop, before Ai and before an abundance of quality stock photography images, there was only one way yo create fantasies of imagination and that was to build it in solid form in front of my camera in the studio.
To that end I employed ten creatives on my crew and we did everything from propping, production design, set building ,background paintings, miniatures and sculptures, all forms of camera trickery to "fool the eye."
Upstairs I had a ten enlarger darkroom and roller transport processors to process everything I shot within minutes or hours of exposure, to deliver not only the very best quality, but to expedite delivery and approval. The people who worked for me were at the top of their game and we invented solutions that were way ahead of their time. I am most proud of my team, including Geoff Maxwell, Chuck Turner, Fred Thoman and Mark Alexander. Each moved on to freelance work, establishing themselves as the high mark standard in their respective feilds.
The images in the above gallery of commercial work were all made that way.
Have a story to tell? I’d love to hear it. Let’s begin with a simple note.
the shadows of
your mind
exploring stories together
