The Art of Photography
An original portrait is a special gift - a moment borrowed from time and preserved for the future…
A special gift that can add a feeing of warmth to all who pass by, a gift that can stir deep emotions and elevate our spirit.
From a child's first look at the world - the precious sense of wonder and innocence…
- the vibrancy of youth - the exuberance and quest for knowledge…
- the young adult - often a sense of strength and determination - sometimes a sense of hesitancy, as they embark on their own journey of life…
- the complete and secure feeling of the family as it grows and matures - the life, love, energy and emotion of family relationships - favorite places and special times shared…
- the strength and beauty of a true love that has grown ever more strong throughout the years together.
We have a tremendous responsibility to find the depth of sensitivity beyond the masks that are sometimes put on in front of a camera. We strive to find the true reflection of what's inside - what makes each of us unique - an interpretation of life and its intricacies… that's what every portrait we do is about.
Since 1982, we, at becker.s, have continued to upgrade our artistic skills, as well as our technology and facilities. Each and every year, our company continues to invest in the pursuit of a superior product and the knowledge necessary to respond to the demands of the next generation. In the past several years, we have found ourselves photographing the children of children that we photographed - and now the high school seniors of high school seniors that we photographed just a few short years ago. It seems like yesterday! We realize our vocation is to record for a lifetime the memories of those we serve, of those whose lives we are privileged to share. Thank you for allowing us to become a part of your family!
Sincerely, Dave and Lynne Becker
with 35 years and counting in art and photography, this may get rather long … however, if you really want to know more about the becker.s in detail … read on! — 35 years is a long time, although here you will learn that at no point in their career have they ever stepped back or stood still. part of their wedding vows to each other were: "let us continue to grow, create, achieve and work together as equals." — which is what they continue to do to this this day and beyond!
david becker, an army veteran, serving in korea and japan during the vietnam era, a forever student, a humorous guy, a love of trees and clouds (from smithton, illinois — just south of st. louis) and lynne (miller) becker, a love of animals, everything outdoors and "ditto" on the forever student (from harrisburg, pennsylvania) graduated from rhode island school of photography in 1980.
after graduation, both lynne and dave went to work for memory studio in mount pocono, pa along with two other rhode island classmates. lynne worked at the stricklands resort, photographing honeymoon couples outdoors on the resort grounds and in their honeymoon suites {including in their heart shaped bathtubs! (she could tell you a few stories!)}. She also photographed all of the daily resort activities from hiking, to horseback riding, skeet shooting, skiing and snowmobiling as well as in the dining room and the night clubs every night. each day started about 7:30am and ended somewhere around midnight—364 days a year. (the resorts were closed on christmas day).
lynne feels that jumping into this intense situation, creating images her couples would love, day in and day out, really helped to hone and perfect her photographic skills and her knowledge of what she and her camera were capable of. david worked in the lab processing the days film from the 5 or 6 photographers and printing photographs for the couples to view and purchase the next morning. dave worked at memory studio for two years before moving to williamsport in 1982 to open becker and bowen photography with another rhode island classmate, dave bowen. the original focus of the studio was commercial photography — advertising, brochures, catalogs, etc ... commercial photography has its own perfecting nature as you need to be able to come up with a great image every time, pleasing both the art director and the client. for dave, graduating with the top ranking in his class at rhode island, this was not a problem.
lynne and dave married in 1983 and lynne joined the studio at that time and began developing the portrait side of the studio. they both continued to work for memory studios — dave doing negative retouching and lynne doing print artwork. for the next year, they would drive to the poconos once each week to deliver finished work and pick up new work for the next week. in 1986 the studio moved from its original location on arch street in newberry to the wonderful victorian home on 4th street. about 1988 the becker and bowen partnership divided into two separate entities, dave bowen taking over the commercial division and lynne and dave becker the portrait division. a year or so later the portrait studio needed additional space so dave bowen moved to a different location. the studio name changed to becker.s photography with this transition. the beckers and dave bowen still remain friends and get together a couple of times a year to visit and catch up on what's happening.
the indoor studio space has always been outfitted with a wide variety of props and backgrounds which they have continued to change, refresh, add to and update each and every year. outdoor portraits were originally done at various parks in the area but with the help of landscape artist, pete gstalder — builder, don delaney — natural waterscapes artist, jonathan klotz — and lynne's own love of all things gardening — the outdoor studio has developed into a natural area with many sets and scenes for distinctive outdoor portraiture. from the victorian porch to the southwest corner, the barn, the beach and waterfall plus so much more … there are many outdoor spaces and places to photograph all in one convenient location. the outdoor area has been described as an english cottage garden, much to lynne's delight!
dave has always been the indoor photographer — he loves moving lights, adding one here, another there for dramatic lighting and accenting plus designing and creating new sets and props. lynne has always been the outdoor photographer enjoying using available light and the natural settings of all of the flowers and plantings in the continually changing garden landscape. they both are fully capable of trading places — dave could photograph outdoors and lynne could photograph indoors — but each is happy right where they are! their photographic styles definitely compliment each other giving clients two entirely unique perspectives.
both are award winning photographers and they have continued to update their photography skills through involvement in many professional organizations — professional photographers of america, professional photographers of pennsylvania, children's photographers of the world, senior photographers international and senior portrait artists — just to name a few. they have also attended smaller private workshops and schools through the years and have both given their own teaching workshops as well. both have been certified by the professional photographers of america since 1987 and in 2015 dave was honored as a life member of the professional photographers of america. beyond their portrait work, they do additional personal work as well. dave loves black and white and abstract photography and art and lynne loves alternative photographic processes.
they were pioneers in the move to digital photography, beginning that transition in 1998 ... the early days! they both love mac computers — and for those of you who love this kind of information … dave uses canon cameras and lynne uses nikon … why? lynne says "so we don't have to share lenses!" during the days of film, dave used mamiya and lynne — hasselblad … why? because the mamiya was to big and heavy for lynne to use easily outdoors. "the camera is not important … it's what you can do with the camera ... knowing the camera inside and out so that it's an extension of yourself is what's important." they have actually been pioneers throughout their career, creating and developing innovative concepts and portrait display options for your home, and always seeking education and knowledge to remain in the forefront of the photographic industry.
recently, always up for a new challenge and ways to grow, becker.s have added another element to their studio by moving the offices, workspaces, and indoor portrait studio to the pajama factory. dave's indoor photographic space is larger at the factory plus, they have the added dimension of photographing throughout the factory itself — something many of their clients love! "the spaces and places within the factory are amazing!" they also really enjoy meeting, greeting and gathering with the other artists in the factory — "it's a wonderful place with new inspiration around every corner!" dave has a separate studio on the 3rd floor where he has been rekindling his love of graphite drawing and soon lynne will have her own space for further exploration of alternative photographic processes. dave was part of a graphite show with four other factory artists in september 2014. they are also members of the bald eagle art league and the clinton county arts council. in early 2015 they began curating the bald eagle art league/genetti 4th street grille gallery art showcase. the new gallery in the genetti 4th street grille opened on march 6, 2015 and will showcase a different artist or group of artists from the bald eagle art league each month, with most gallery openings on first friday.
wow — if you've read this far, dave and lynne truly appreciate your interest. now ... they would like for you to please ask yourself the question: "in my heart of hearts, in my wildest dreams, what portrait would really have a special meaning for me, for my children, for my mother or father, for my husband or wife, for my family?" write down your ideas, anything goes! then ... contact lynne to discuss and explore your thoughts, wishes and ideas. dave and lynne would love to work with you to make your dreams, your ideas a reality! — creating art for your home ... featuring your family!
we are aware that others offer lower prices. after careful examination of the level of service and quality that we feel you deserve, we can only ask...
"where have they compromised?"
we pledge never to compromise the service or quality of our products. we have one simple rule... we will provide only the kind of photographic experience that we would expect ourselves. we promise you the very best that we can offer and guarantee your complete satisfaction.
sincerely,
dave and lynne becker
becker.s photography studio