By Ricky Thompson

Art is a craft often dominated by paintbrushes and sculptures, but digital photographer Larry Stelmack is developing a reputation for what may be the newest tool of the trade: the computer.

“I had taken art classes in school like everyone else, but I think it was getting a copy of [Adobe] Photoshop about six years ago that got me started,” said Stelmack, who is currently hosting an exhibition of his work in the first-floor gallery in the Curry Student Center.

Stelmack, who has taught various courses at Northeastern University since 1990, considers his passion for photography to be “at least as much fun as teaching,” if not more. After receiving a digital camera as a gift during last year’s holiday season, he has taken almost 3,000 pictures from a wide variety of locations includingTimes Square in New York City and the Washington National Cathedral.

In many cases, inspiration has been known to strike Stelmack at occasions he would have otherwise spent sleeping, he said.

“I have to go through New York [City] to change trains to visit my mother [in Westen Penn.] or my sister [in the Washington, D.C. area],” he said. “So I would be faced with having a couple of hours to kill in New York, and at certain times of day or late at night you can take very nice pictures of the signs [in Times Square].”

After checking in his bags in New York, Stelmack would often go swing dancing for a few hours and then spend the latter part of the night taking pictures around the city.

“That’s how most of these happen; my camera records the times that each image is taken and nearly all of them are between one and four in the morning,” he said.

As a result, a portion of his collection in the student center is devoted to the bright lights and neon glow of some of Manhattan’s more popular attractions.

He credits the university with helping him acquire his digital photography skills.

“I got a lot of help from [Technical Facilities Head] Bruce Hamilton over in the [Visual Arts] Department,” he said.

In the past few years, Stelmack has taken the same digital imaging course twice under the guidance of both Hamilton and fellow lecturer Neil Rennie.

“They’re both very good,” Stelmack said of his former professors. “They come at the subject from slightly different viewpoints.”

That allowed for a better perspective on such a broad topic, he said.

The instance has “provided an excuse to not only learn more about Photoshop, but to actually do some projects,” he said. “At the end of each term we’d have to put up our work, eight or 10 photographs on a certain piece, so that was good for me in getting criticism from other people.”

To Stelmack, the concept of gathering a portfolio of his work was a valuable learning experience, “like a mini-show in front of a friendly audience,” he said.

The time committed to completing each piece “varies from a few hours to coming back to the same one over and over again.”

“I don’t spend as long a time as people would spend to make an oil painting,” Stelmack said.

He also noted, “[Historians] say Picasso used to be able to just dash off these drawings in five minutes and sell them for $10,000 because he was that creative, and I think all aspiring artists could learn from that.”

While his Northeastern exhibition is his first one-man show, Stelmack hopes this will serve as a stepping stone in catching the eye of other art galleries in the area.

One of the hardest parts of preparing his work for display was deciding which images would ultimately make the cut.

“There’s about 30 [pieces] here at the show and it’s the most I’ve ever had framed at one time,” he said. “It was a lot of work getting ready for it.”

Stelmack said visitors had been flowing into the gallery in steady numbers during its first few days. A guestbook near its entrance, which had been signed by nearly half a dozen patrons, praised the artwork for its beauty, range of color and originality.

The exhibition will remain open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Jan. 23. In addition, the artist will be offering a guided tour of the gallery today at 6 p.m. and again Sunday at 2 p.m.