Some may call him a pioneer, but many just call him a mentor or an inspiration. Local photographer Gerald Lang has been making his mark in the community for nearly five decades.
Lang got his start in 1966 when he received his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Minnesota, after getting his bachelor’s degree from the same school. He quickly found his passion in photography and become a beginner photo instructor at the university.
After leaving Minnesota and taking time to do photographic research on architecture in Europe, Lang found his way to the happiest of valleys and became an instructor in the Department of Art at Penn State in 1969.
Lang was on the leading edge of teaching digital photography. He founded the Digital Photography Studio and Program in the College of Arts and Architecture in the mid-1990s.
To start, Lang had 15 of his most advanced students, limited space, and no equipment, but was determined to help guide these students to follow their passions just as he did.
“No schools were teaching digital photography at the time and I saw a want and need for it in my students,” Lang says.
After creating a curriculum proposal with no source of money, numerous grants and loans allowed the program to receive three new cameras that enabled the students to split up into groups and begin to learn.
From there, the program received $200,000 worth of equipment which, Lang says, in value was more than the entire photo budget amounted to in all of the 30 years that he that he had been at the university.
“That was a terrific project – building that digital program here at Penn State,” Lang says. “We were figuring it out as we went along, by the skin of our teeth, one problem at a time – we were making it happen”.
Lang knew that he had to make the program visible and show the university and sponsors that brilliant work was being done.
“An interesting twist to this was that Sue Paterno was taking photography courses and she came to me and asked if she could be in my beginning photography class,” Lang says. “I didn’t know who she was but I said sure, as long as she finishes and does all the work.”
Paterno became intrigued by the art of photography and with the program as a whole; at that time she was working with Lang on chemical photography, but saw what digital photography was turning into, he says.
“She was a terrific mentor in terms of the political ropes that one had to go through in order to bring this program alive,” Lang adds.
At first, the art department was a bit hesitant to embrace anything digital because of fears about breaking traditions in art, but as time went on and leadership in the department evolved, more support grew with this new technology and program.
“I think that of all the years at Penn State, bringing the program out of nowhere to the success that it was at when I retired was just great and part of it stems from being there when there was not a lot of other interest from faculty – I decided I … was just going to go do this.”
The enthusiasm of Lang’s students was always there, and to him that was one of the most wonderful parts. In fact, a lot of his students stayed in photography. Many of them started their own studios or even landed their work in publications such as National Geographic.
After passing the torch at Penn State, Lang began to focus on his own work with his partner, Jennifer Tucker. The two worked on many collaborations to create published books and traveling exhibits.
Lang has many points of inspiration in his photography, but to him the horses on his land and the act of observing, taking care of and riding them is very special and inspiring.
“Horses were a fascination and inspiration to me and I photograph them a lot,” Lang says. “Animals always had an attraction – part of my interest may have come from seeing these animals as a portrait or the importance of contact and connection with the animals.”
Lang now sits in his farm house on more than 100 acres of beautiful land in Spring Mills, where he can photograph what he loves most.
As an early adopter of digital photography, Lang feels lucky to now be able to capture moments and memories as a passion and hobby in his retirement.
He uses photography to help feed his soul.
To learn more about Gerald Lang and his work, visit Gerald-Lang.com.
