Bill Schwab

Gathering Calm
Photographs: 1994-2004

Bill Schwab

North Light Press

Plate 1
 Foreword
“Gathering calm” perfectly refers not only to the graceful
serenity of the imagery in this publication but also to the
sensibility that created it. It alludes to a blend of factors:
possessing an affinity for a setting, having a vision, and cul-
tivating it through study and hard work. “Gathering calm” is
also about having the ability to see a subject, to secure it and
to convey it with the same intensity that it was experienced.
It suggests a completeness of action that is sophisticated,
subtle and not easy to achieve.
Bill Schwab knows landscapes – and indeed, it is evident
that he loves them. His methodology is both intuitive and
analytical. Through his experience of the outdoors – learning
about weather conditions, light and the natural characteris-
tics of a geography – he has developed a sense, not necessar-
ily of knowing what to expect but rather of what to remain
vigilant. At the same time, he exercises patience and perhaps
hopes for a little luck. Patience is about looking and seeing.
It’s about timing and framing and then later in the darkroom,
patience involves another form of “gathering calm” – when
the image is sought yet again through other methods of de-
velopment and process. Luck is the uncontrollable factor not
to be dismissed. Bill tells countless “right time, right place”
tales of encounters that provided unexpected results, such as
the roll of waves changing a beach in seconds or a light on
the horizon blinking once or twice and perhaps no more.
And what does it mean to work within pictorialism, a sty-
listic tradition that has well over a century of history? A
pictorialist sees the world as it is but also he finds emotion
within his subjects. This ability and desire to inject feeling
or to enhance the expressive qualities of the image occur
both during shooting and developing, when the photogra-
pher employs all the tools at his disposal. Bill works alone.
He likes the night and talks of a special calm that he finds
when the world itself is quiet. He works with the concept of
beauty but he sees it as more than just the presentation of a
pretty thing. Beauty exists in his imagery on many levels. His
prints are impeccably made. There is the beauty that results
from craft, skill and technique combining to finish the object
exactly as the photographer wishes. Often, his landscapes are
of a splendor that can only be described as poetic. At other
times, the subjects are simpler yet equally poignant and range
from the humorous to the mysterious, such as a snow-coated
sculpture of a dog on Belle Isle or an industrial complex
shrouded by a fog and contrasted against the sharp branches
of an otherwise unseen elm off Grosse Ile. Questioning the
role of beauty as Bill Schwab does remains a rich topic in late
20th-early 21st century art. For the better part of the history,
it was a central element of most arts. But what is its value in
our time? Is it an idea that is used, dismissed or ignored? Is
it even part of an artist’s consciousness and if present, how?
Being creative is about conducting this dialogue with prece-
dence and process. It’s about the artist finding his own voice
within a context and making a resounding statement
Thinking about the presence or absence of beauty in con-
temporary art also provokes another large and equally messy
question. What is the relevancy of photography now? It is
everywhere in stills and moving images and everyone seems
to be practicing it on a variety of levels. It can be argued that
photography’s ability to reflect the world with perfect clarity
is actually what has clouded its definition. From its inception,
the possibilities of representation through photography have
been debated perpetually. The classic dividing lines have been
drawn typically between a side that viewed the medium as
possessing great objectivity and one that favored its interpre-
tative qualities. Such separations illustrate the versatility of
photography but they don’t address the fullness of its char-
acter. Another understanding is to gather all the options and
to think that regardless of the era, some photographers have
shown that photography can be called both objective and
interpretative at the same time and within the same image.
Despite how factual or real they appear to be, photographs
are always extensions of the hand and eye of the person who
created them. Although they may appear familiar, they are
unique. They are what their makers think, see and feel in the
flash of a moment, whether that’s a moment of inspiration,
observation or stage direction. This rally around the image
– the gathered knowledge about the who, what, where and
how of its creation and existence – remains the operative
force. Relevancy continues to reside in enduring imagery that
can provoke a reaction, generate an interest, strike a chord or
organize our thoughts with all the collectivity that “gathering
calm” suggests.
Nancy Sojka
Curator of Graphic Arts – Detroit Institute of Arts
Plate 2
Plate 3 Plate 4
Plate 5 Plate 6
Plate 7
Plate 8 Plate 9
Plate 10 Plate 11
Plate 12 Plate 13
Plate 14 Plate 15
Plate 16
Plate 17 Plate 18
Plate 19 Plate 20
Plate 21 Plate 22
Plate 23 Plate 24
Plate 25
Plate 26 Plate 27
Plate 28 Plate 29
Plate 30 Plate 31
Plate 32
Plate 33 Plate 34
Plate 35 Plate 36
 Notes on Plates Acknowledgements
Plate 1 Plate 19 The gracious and generous support of the following
Approaching Darkness, Sturgeon Bay, Mich. 2004 Ghost Feather, Sturgeon Bay, Mich. 2003 people has in large part made this project possible.

Plate 2 Plate 20 With very special thanks to:

Young Maple - River Rouge, Dearborn, Mich. 2003 Floating Rock, Sturgeon Bay, Mich. 2001

Plate 3 Plate 21 Jerry and Linda Basierbe

September Sky, Lake Michigan 2004 Moon Beams and Maples, Emmet County, Mich. 1998
Brian and Wendy Beard
Plate 4 Plate 22 Dennis, Carole, Misty and Ryan Burgess
Wave Trails - Black Sand, Iceland 2002 Maple - Torchlight, Emmet County, Mich. 2003 Mi-Li Choi
Plate 5 Plate 23 Patty Cohen
Elm Branch, Grosse Ile, Mich. 1999 Young Tree - Backstop, Detroit, Mich. 2002 Ben and Leah Crane
Plate 6 Plate 24 Kirk and Karen Gridley
Glacial Stream - Midnight Storm, Iceland 2003 Okanoka Lagoon, Belle Isle, Detroit, Mich. 2001 Tom and Carol Halsted
Plate 7 Plate 25
Clay Harmon
Four Swans - Holtsos, Iceland 2002 Willow Branches - Rouge River, Dearborn, Mich. 1999 P. Kalbaugh
Cyrus and Marla Karimipour
Plate 8 Plate 26
Reynis Beach from Dyrholaey, Iceland 2002 Late February Thaw, Bell Isle, Detroit, Mich. 1997 Catherine Kavanaugh
Tom and Rita Kavanaugh
Plate 9 Plate 27
Rainbow - Skogafoss, Iceland 2003 Rouge Steel #1, Dearborn, Mich. 1994 Brian and Kathleen Kelly
Della Mancuso
Plate 10 Plate 28
Gullfoss, Iceland 2002 Snow Dog, Belle Isle, Detroit, Mich. 1996
Rick and Candace Medress
Gregory S. Mlot
Plate 11 Plate 29 Kyosuke Miyazaki
Clouds and Tide Pools, Iceland 2002 Lamp Post - January Snowfall, Belle Isle, Mich. 1998
Chris Norris
Plate 12 Plate 30 Paul R. Paletti Jr.
Young Birch - Passing Storm, Iceland 2003 Pump House - Detroit River 1998
Saul Romo
Plate 13 Plate 31 Steven Rood Photography
Driftwood - Basalt Formation, Iceland 2003 Abandoned Mill, Ripley, Mich. 1997
Arnold and Nancee Schwab
Plate 14 Plate 32 Matthew and Kathy Scher
Upper Falls - Gullfoss, Iceland 2002 Fugitive Sky, Lake Michigan 2002 Gregory D. Seman
Plate 15 Plate 33 Marc and Gabriele Sewtz
Precipice - Skogafoss, Iceland 2002 Warm Summer Breeze, Lake Michigan 2004 Nancy Sojka
Plate 16 Plate 34
November Wind, Sturgeon Bay, Mich. 2001 Knifophia, Marin County, Calif. 2000

Plate 17 Plate 35
The Detroit Institute of Arts
Wagoshance Light, Sturgeon Bay, Mich. 2003 Northern Light, Sturgeon Bay, Mich. 2000 The Halsted Gallery
Gallery Lumiere
Plate 18 Plate 36
Monterey Light - Monterey Peninsula, Calif. 2000 Spirit Grass, Lake Michigan 2004 The Photography Room
Bill Schwab’s work is represented in the permanent collections
of the following institutions:

The Detroit Institute of Arts

George Eastman House

The University of Michigan Art Museum

Cincinnati Art Museum

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

Dayton Art Institute

For a listing of dealers and galleries where Bill Schwab’s

photographic prints are available, see:

www.billschwab.com

Copyright © 2005 Bill Schwab and North Light Press, LLC

Photographs copyright © 2005 Bill Schwab
Foreword copyright © 2005 Nancy Sojka

All rights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be

reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission,
except select passages used in critical reviews and articles.

ISBN: 0-9765193-1-3
(Deluxe boxed set with signed silver gelatin print. Edition of 60.)

ISBN: 0-9765193-2-1
(Trade edition.)

First printed in April 2005 in the beautiful Northeast Kingdom of

Vermont by Stinehour Press. Printed in the United States of America.

Edition: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

North Light Press - Harbor Springs, Michigan

www.northlightpress.com