Erwin G. Markowitz has been shooting photographs since he was gifted a Kodak Bullet at age thirteen.

Markowitz was the president and cofounder of Red Knit Mills where he worked with textile manufacturing and oversaw all aspects of design, production and marketing of high quality knitted fabrics for the majority of his career. The influence of textile design is evident in his hand-made prints. “When a print slowly comes to life in a tray of developer, it is magic! It is still always a thrill for me when that image once seen in the viewfinder comes to life in the darkroom,” says Markowitz.

A series of Markowitz’s photographs, Selections from the Archive will be featured in the Hall Gallery of the Griffin Museum December 11, 2014 through December 30, 2014. An opening reception with the artist is also scheduled for December 11, 2014 from 6-8pm.

In my early days of making photographs, Erwin states, “All of my film was processed in a dish or soup bowl in the family linen closet in our New York apartment using the “see-saw” method. Film those days cost about a quarter a roll and the developer that came in a tube with a cork at either end plus one in the middle to separate the two types of chemicals was all of a nickel.”

Erwin G. Markowitz, 91, is an accomplished photographer who has been taking pictures for over 75 years. He’s captured compelling images across North America, Europe and Africa, focusing primarily in black and white photography, particularly shooting and printing nature, landscape, wildlife and scenic prints. “Like most people,” says Markowitz, “my photography often revolves around my other interests and hobbies-primarily those that take me closest to nature. Informal portraits of people in their natural habitat have become an additional focus for me.”

Markowitz has exhibited his work at the Griffin Museum of Photography, The Ward Museum in Maryland and the Fitchburg Art Museum in addition to galleries in Amherst and the Worcester area. He has also won various awards throughout his photography career.