Photography Opens New World For Artist

If you're in Washington, D.C. this month, stop in at the Terrace Gallery of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and check out artwork by St. Charles artist Hal Moran.

Two of Moran's photographs were selected for an exhibition entitled Shift, sponsored by VSA, an international organization on arts and disability. Moran said he was one of 17 artists whose work was accepted for the exhibit, out of 318 artists worldwide who submitted work for the show.

Moran's interest in photography began when he was a teenager. "I had a friend who was into photography," he said. "The first time he let me look into the camera it opened up a new world to me. I just got hooked--I'm a very visual person."

Photography helped him to deal with his disabilities. "I grew up with Tourette's syndrome, ADD and dyslexia," he said. "I didn't know what I had as a boy. I knew there was something different about me."

Moran found a name for his condition one night while watching the television drama Quincy. "The show was about a kid with Tourette's syndrome, and I recognized that was me," he said. "I got diagnosed, but I didn't tell anyone for 20 years."

Growing up, Moran said he fell through the cracks in the school system. "I had to teach myself how to learn--if I could see it, I'd remember it forever. I'm a very visual and auditory learner. I had to focus on that. So photography opened up a whole new world for me. It was a natural progression based on how I learn and receive information," he said.

"The word 'disability' is a misnomer," Moran said. "There are lots of things I can and can't do, but I focus on what I can do not on what I can't. Every person has worth and value."  

Moran's photography is more avocation than vocation, he said. "You'll find my picture in the dictionary next to 'starving artist.'"

While he enjoys photographing an eclectic mix of subjects, he does have a favorite subject. "I do enjoy landscapes," he said. "I'm also intrigued by old things--old doors, old homes, old barns. I like countryside landscapes."

Moran said he's also interested in urban landscapes and sidewalk scenes. "Anything where the lighting is right tends to drive where I'll shoot."

Photography is a field that has changed greatly since Moran started. "When I started 30-plus years ago it was all film based," he said. "Ten years ago, I got a scanner and was still shooting with film. In February, I went to 100 percent digital capture."

Moran said the switch to digital opened up more opportunities. "Growing up, you sometimes had to decide--buy film or diapers? You also had to be discriminate and not burn through film. The instant feedback with digital is incredible. Being able to change settings on the fly is also a tremendous benefit. Digital is here to stay."

If you can't make your way to the nation's capital this month, Moran's work can be viewed at his website.