Photographs by Ted Hendrickson

 
During the past four decades, Ted Hendrickson's photographs have explored the nature of landscape as image. Ranging from the man made scene of the built environment to the wooded and coastal landscape that comprises what is left of "Nature" in Southern New England, Hendrickson's laconic personal views can be simultaneously poetic, comic, tragic or mysterious. His work records layers of geologic and human history in a concise, straightforward style without overtly injecting the drama of the picturesque or the clever abstractions of the camera’s frame. Recent interests include working on a series of "portraits" of local glacial erratic boulders left behind by the melting edge of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet some 18,000 years ago. Following this path, a series of images, “Questions for a Stony Landscape” explores boulders and placed stonework as marking the man altered landscape and its potential evidence as work and ritual. Also ongoing is a group of large panoramic landscape images formed from three connected (triptych) wide angle photographs that encompass 190° field of view. These sharp focus, documentary-style images concentrate on the local landscape in transition and the landscape of Ireland, exploring both mystical and mundane aspects of this ancient land. A fly fishing enthusiast, Hendrickson's Fly Fishing Landscapes series is a visual diary of the angling experience of a saltwater fly caster. In his current project, “Looking for John Winthrop, Jr.” Hendrickson decided to do an experiment. He grew up in New London, a town founded by Winthrop, and attended Winthrop Elementary School, built on the site of the Winthrop family mansion. His personal interest in Winthrop was rekindled by Walter Woodward’s book Prospero’s America, which depicts the life of Winthrop as not only a governor, but an alchemist, healer and entrepreneur in the Puritan colonies of New England. What would happen if he visited and photographed locations associated with Winthrop's seventeenth century activities? What would be there today? Would the places retain a residue of their history? Finding where Winthrop lived, the towns he founded (Ipswich, Ma. 1633,Old Saybrook, Ct. 1636, and, New London, Ct. 1646), properties he owned, his practical business activities including mines, ironworks and saltworks, would be essentially a time travel through New England in his footsteps. Embracing time as an equal partner, Hendrickson photographed these places with honesty while searching for their past. A native of New London, Connecticut, Ted Hendrickson studied photography at the University of Connecticut where he received BA and MFA degrees, and at Rhode Island School of Design where he earned a Master's degree in Art Education. Hendrickson's work has been featured nationally in numerous one-person and group exhibitions. He received a commission from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts to photograph the towns of New London County for permanent exhibition at the New London County Court House. His work is included in many prestigious public and private collections. Hendrickson has tought Photography and the History of Photography at Connecticut College, where he is an Associate Professor of Art, Emeritus. Note: Titles of albums above are “live” links, click for navigation. Slideshow can be exited by closing window to return to album view. For better resolution viewing, double click photo in album and then hit “Download”, Back Button in browser will return to sequence display. All photographs on this site © Ted Hendrickson. Please contact for reproduction rights.