BEHIND THE LENS
Larry Allen McBee has a background in couture dressmaking, fashion designing, and custom-tailoring. His interest in photography began when he asked his brother (who was attending Kent State University pursuing a degree in photojournalism in the early '80s) to photograph before and after results from his design studio. His brother refused, so Larry purchased a camera and photographed his studio himself and from that point on he knew he wanted to become a photographer.
Originally from Cleveland Ohio, Larry hired Cleveland-based photographers, Rodney Brown and Thomas D. Polk, and renowned New York-based fashion photographer Steve Vallariello to photograph his original designs and was so inspired by these photographers he continued to self teach himself resulting in a dual passion for fashion designing and photography.
His introduction to fine art photography began when he became aware of Ansel Adams, an American photographer, and environmentalist. Adam's black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, and books.
With Fred Archer, Adams developed the Zone System as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. The resulting clarity and depth characterized his photographs.
Larry embraced Adams Zone System and its remarkable ability to determine correct lighting ratios.
Today the system used by Larry is the Xrite ColorChecker Passport that delivers excellent color quality and details.
© 2014 by LARRY ALLEN MCBEE PHOTOGRAPHY.