Ray Belcher

Ray Belcher is one of the few photographers today who still utilizes the black-and-white silver gelatin printing process. A quiet master of the craft of printing, his silver gelatin photographs are notoriously difficult to create. All of his photographs are done in black and white. He is primarily a landscape photographer and has been inspired by New Mexico since he moved to Santa Fe in the mid-70s from California where he had already begun to make a name for himself as a photographer. He was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant at that time.

"When I got here in 1976, there were only about 20 people who identified themselves as photographers, including Ernest Knee, Eliot Porter, Beaumont Newhall, Paul Caponigro, etc. What to photograph is determined by the time and faith you have to follow the process through. I make many prints before I accept one. It’s a real commitment of time and passion. The vision has to be able to sustain you." Ray Belcher