Biographical Sketch:
 
Russell (Russ) Regnery grew up in Northern California where his early photographic influences included the master west-coast photographers of the era (e.g., Adams and Weston).  He studied biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and subsequently was awarded a Ph.D. in Virology from the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.  Russell joined the staff of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Virology Division, (Atlanta, GA) in 1978 where he was involved with pathogen discovery and characterization as a Research Microbiologist and Team Leader for 30 years.  In 2006 Dr. Regnery was awarded an honorary Doctor of Medicine from Uppsala University, Sweden, and in 2008 received the prestigious William Watson Medal of Excellence from the CDC as well as the Health and Human Service Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service. 
 
Russell has maintained an extramural interest in photography throughout and beyond the duration of his educational and primary professional activities.  He taught evening photography classes at the Southeastern Center for the Arts (SCA) and was Workshop Director for the SCA for several years in the 1980’s.  Organizing and sitting in on photographic workshops for SCA happily involved additional interaction with the invited workshop leaders including Alison Shaw, Bruce Barnbaum, John Shaw, Morly Baer, Galen Rowell, Cole Weston, and Jay Dusard.  Russell initiated and led a series of traveling photographic workshops for the SCA to the Georgia Barrier Islands and to the southern Appalachians as well as coastal California and the Canadian Rockies.  Responding to requests from advanced students of photography, he organized The Photographers’ Circle, a workshop-oriented group of advanced amateur photographers from the Atlanta area.  Additional significant photographic/artistic influences have included mentors, friends and fellow photographers Don Howard, Richard Green, Phil Davis, Mark Nelson, and members of the Ossabaw Artists’ Collective.  Russ is one of the informal, organizational “fearless leaders” of the Ossabaw Artists’ Collective.


Brief artist’s statement:  

Photography is for me an act of discovery and challenge; the personal discovery of exciting subject matter, matched with the challenge of effective interpretation.   My primary photographic goal is simply to share some of the excitement and perhaps mystery of original visual discovery with whoever may view the final images.  The Ossabaw Island Foundation’s Visiting Artist Program has provided a wonderful opportunity to periodically explore the island’s unique habitats and remnants of an extraordinary human cultural past, while interacting with a diverse variety of fellow artists.
 
I photograph with a large format view camera as a primary tool for image capture.  The deliberate use of a traditional view camera obliges me to choose subjects carefully and photograph only those that interest me most.  However, for me view camera photography is rewarded by the expectation that the initial visualization stands a good probability of transitioning to a satisfying, high-quality presentation image.