Info + Contact
— About me, social media, and how to get in touch
Steve Volpe: Renaissance Soul.
Always with a camera
Thank you for taking time to visit my site. Photography has long been a passion of mine, ever since I snapped my first photo (at age eight) in 1978. That’s when my grandmother, Carolyn Pillsbury, gave me my first camera, a Windsor plastic toy camera (identical to the well-known Diana camera) with which I made my very first portraits: pictures of classmates on the playground at Euclid Elementary School in Jamestown, New York.
Back then I could never have imagined what doors that little plastic toy camera would later open. In 2002, I used that very camera to photograph musician Ben Folds. Epic Records published the resulting images on the album Ben Folds Live. (There’s a lot more to that story.) And I’ve had the honor and privilege of making portraits of Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, “the father of motivation,” many times over the years.
In 1988, I took my first photography class at Jamestown Community College. Art Hand, my phenomenal teacher, opened my eyes to the art of photography. “You’re a portraitist,” he said. Thanks to Art Hand’s wise teaching and encouragement, I grew as an artist, discovering that fine art photography—with an emphasis on portraiture—was indeed my calling.
I went on to major in photography at the State University of New York at New Paltz where I studied under two great photography teachers: Ann Lovett and Francois Deschamps. Some of my major influences and inspiring role models include artists such as Eva Rubinstein, Andrea Modica, Sally Mann, Arthur Newman, and Julia Margaret Cameron.
Nowadays I continue my education at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College where in 2015 I earned a Creative Studies Minor (and aim to complete the Master of Science Degree in creativity).
An ardent lifelong learner, I nurture a deep and abiding passion for art, design, story, word craft, photography, Creative Problem Solving, personal growth, positive psychology, decision analysis, critical thinking, and creativity.
General Inquiries
— I’d love to hear from you!
Steve Volpe