Hello! May I offer my sympathy to friend and family of Michael Craven. I met Michael in 2005 on Ebay. We were both looking for a Blue Pearl Ludwig drum set. He got his and I’m still looking. This is where I got interested in his photography and art form. We exchanged a number of emails over a few months then we lost touch. Today, I got an email from a friend and thought I’d send Michael a copy. And then, looking for him on the net, I found the unthinkable – he had passed away. Please pass this on to his family. Who know maybe some of these were his creations.
Regards, Jean from Canada
(note from Sally, Jean included images referred to in her last sentence.)
At an art show I recently participated in I was informed that Michael Craven, a talented photographer, had died in June from cancer. I was asked to pass this information on to other photographers. I knew Michael only through our contact at many art shows throughout the country. I enjoyed seeing his large and very intriguing photographs and also enjoyed his sense of humor.
Michael always wore black clothing, no matter the temperature. I have a clear recollection of talking to him at Pensacola, one very hot and sunny day. He was sweating profusely and unhappy about working in the heat. I asked him why he wore black clothing in such hot weather. He told me that one time, years ago, he did a photo shoot for a client. After the day’s shoot he had the film developed. In every good image he had taken his light clothing was visible reflected in the glass or metal which was part of what he was assigned to photograph. He had taken no polaroids, so had no previews of the results. This story took place in the olden days, before digital. Ever since this unfortunate shoot he wore black.
– Robert Barab
Michael Craven, a 30 years+ photography veteran, died in June after a long illness. Michael was a great guy and his fine work was an asset to the art fair business. He really knew his way around a camera and a darkroom. He was a photojournalist and commercial photographer before he started exhibiting at art fairs. The integrity of his images made his work stand above many of his contemporaries.
The work was original in concept and always great to see. No cookie cutter images here, just great conceptual pieces photographed and printed in the traditional manner.
Here is his website: http://brainfoodphoto.com/ and here is another site I found that has more of his imagery: http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/a/artychoke/
– Connie Mettler of ArtFairCalendar.com
Memorials posted here on the NAIA site and Member Forum.