Fred Shively - Photographer - a short interview with myself

On being born. I was born, without my permission, in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA in 1942.

On formative years. Mine was a nomadic, rainbow-chasing family. We must have lived in at least a dozen States before I was 16. This exposed me to a vast amount of visual/cultural stimuli and turned me into an inveterate itinerant. I have lived on two continents and two islands. And not a day goes by when I don't look longingly at the horizon no matter where I am.

On education. Ongoing. Couple of years studying radio TV Journalism at Marquette University in Wisconsin, USA. Russian language studies in California. A Masters Degree course in Foresight & Future studies at Leeds Metropolitan University in England. Two stints at the Rockport College photographic workshops in Maine, USA. Was also an external assessor for the Leeds College of Art in the UK.

On earning a living. First serious earning came as a copywriter in a provincial English advertising agency in the 60s. Became a creative director of the same agency, then went to Frankfurt, Germany - and subsequently to London - as a creative director for J. Walter Thompson on a large multinational account. Subsequently, I was a creative director for the world's largest experiential communications company. Both careers exposed me to great designers, photographers, musicians and film-makers and helped to shape my creativity. Now? I am an impecunious maker of photographs.

On photography.  I once wrote an ad for Porsche with the headline: 'One Picture is Worth a thousand Words'. Cliché? Maybe. True? Depends on the words. But the fact is, having written several million words during my commercial career, I have decided that what I have to say to the world can best be said through photography. I am a member of both the Maryland Federation of Artists and the Bureau of Freelance Photographers

On influences.  A partial list: Monet, Pisarro, Schiele, Cezanne, Sibelius, Zappa, Glass, Calvino, J.P. Donleavy, Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï, Doisneau, Robert Frank, Walker Evans, Edward Weston, Goldsworthy, just about anybody at Magnum and whoever is responsible for designing earth and all its bits.