William Corey, a Boulder-based large-format photographer who produced hundreds of pictures of Japanese gardens, died Monday at the age of 58.
"A good photograph requires as much planning as a crime."
Those are the words William Corey chose to describe the ideal approach to composing and taking photographs.
It was also the method the Boulder-based photographer painstakingly followed in producing some of the finest large-format prints of Japanese gardens the world has seen.
"I don't think you have to stand in front of his art for more than a minute or two before you get a sense of his perception that everything is a miracle," said Ron Billingsley, a former University of Colorado professor of American literature and a longtime friend. "He had a rapt attention to detail."
Corey died Monday after a long battle with cancer. He was 58.
Left behind is a stunning collection of photographs he shot during more than 30 years of visits to Japan.
Corey became so adept at capturing the delicate interplay of color and light in the finely sculpted gardens that he was the only western photographer invited to photograph the gardens of the Japanese emperor.
His craft was also his bread and butter. He amassed a list of illustrious clients -- Bear Stearns, Dean Witter, Citicorp, Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Bank -- along with Denver-based Listen Up and the Pamela R. Lessing Friedman Foundation of Boulder.
Friends who bought his prints were transfixed by them.
"His photographs are like exquisite time machines," said Valerie Appelbaum, a 25-year friend. "When I look at one, I'm transported to another time and place."
Another time and place is exactly what Corey wanted to capture when, in 1974, he saw a television show about Japanese gardens.
He flew to Japan and quickly discovered that his 35mm camera wasn't going to do the job.
He opted for a vintage, accordion-style Korona Panoramic View camera -- built from brass, leather and wood. The bulky camera was equipped with a Kodak 18-inch wide-field copy lens and shot onto 8-by-20-inch film.
Taking days to familiarize himself with every shadow and angle of a garden and using a single exposure that might last for 30 minutes or more, Corey used patience and a Zen-like focus to get his image.
"The last thing that goes through my mind before I trip the shutter? 'Could another photographer be standing in this same place, making this same picture.' Yes, means I haven't worked hard enough."
This is an extract from an article appearing in Daily Camera.com - the link to the full article is
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Contact Camera Staff Writer John Aguilar at 303-473-1389 or aguilarj@dailycamera.com.
