Friends of Library Hear from Loch Raven Photographer

Probably the most amazing thing about the coffee table photo book Loch Raven is the camera it's author used to shoot the breaktaking scenes inside.

Rather than any fancy photo equipment, the entire book was shot with a "point-and-shoot" 10-megapixel Panasonic Lumix digital camera—the same type that you and scores of others probably use at family gatherings, which retails for around $350.

That was just one of the stories Loch Raven photographer David Simpson shared during a recent presentation as part Friends of the Loch Raven Library speaker's series. 

The Maryland Institute College of Art grad and 25-year veteran of the film and photography industry told a group of about 20 people the story of his career.

Simpson grew up in Dundalk and went to Parkville High School where, he said, he was an "awful student." After high school, Simpson "joined the service," and while overseas in Korea he fell in love with photography.

"I tell people it's the only thing I do well," Simpson said. "I can take pictures with my eyes shut—I see the print, see it on the wall, see it happen."

After he graduated from MICA, Simpson went into advertising and worked out of a New York City studio shooting film in New York, Baltimore, Toronto, Italy, and Vancouver.

"At the height of that career I decided to do something else entirely," Simpson said. "Only in the 80s could you do that."

For years, Simpson worked locally doing film but, as he put it, "Baltimore is not the film capitol of the US."

The "glory days" of advertising were over and he found himself more and more drawn to still images.

"As soon as the money goes, the first thing to go is art and music," Simpson said. "For years I'd been hearing 'it'll be good enough' — I was so upset at work, I started looking for something else to do."

"Loch Raven is on the way from my house to everywhere," Simpson said. "I go kayaking, walking, biking fishing and boating there."

Simpson said that Loch Raven was one of the more beautiful places he'd seen in his career.

"People always talk about how beautiful Vancouver is, and I think Vancouver and Loch Raven are a lot alike. I'd put Loch Raven up there against Vancouver any day," Simpson said.

So, enamored with the reservoir and looking for a new project, Simpson said he searched the internet and found there weren't many professional photos of Loch Raven; he had his plan.

Over the course of three years Simpson shot over 9,000 photos for the book—some from a kayak in the water, some from the Dulaney Valley Road and Warren Road bridges, and some on foot in the woods.

"You make your own luck," Simpson said, offering advice to amateur photographers in the crowd. "If you get out enough, you'll see stuff. When you can't see, the camera will see stuff that you don't."

Simpson's advice as far as equipment?

"People always talk about how important the camera is—a new gizmo that lets you do this or that—it doesn't matter about the camera, it's what you do with it," he said. "Don't have something so expensive you can't bear to lose it — keep it with you at all times."

Ellie Sharkey, a resident of the Glendale neighborhood in Loch Raven, said she enjoyed Simpson's presentation.

"I feel wonderful, the photos are beyond beautiful," she said. "He told how he progressed [as a photographer]—it makes me want to get out and explore Loch Raven."

Simpson spoke to the Friends of Loch Raven Library, a group dedicated to preserving the Loch Raven branch of Baltimore County Public library, on Feb. 14 as part of a monthly speaker's series. The next event will be held on March 13 from 2-3 p.m. when Don Robertson, Director of EarthSaveBaltimore talks about healthy eating and the vegetarian lifestyle.