Darrell Tangen
Grand Marais July Moonrise, Photograph
Faculty
Dakota County Technical College
Works on display
Grand Marais July Moonrise, Photograph
Rimmed in Red Rose, Photograph
"Life is not in the destination...but in the journey. To capture the essence of the journey- That is photography"
With the click of the shutter, I have always tried to envision the world around me. Peering through my lens and seeing the environment as if through the eyes of a child, in wonderment and amazement, I can view all the events that make up this wonderful place where we live. When the image I have in my mind appears in the viewfinder, I become part of the scene. And each time I look at the images I have created, I revisit those feelings of wonder. No matter if it is the coldest morning sunrise, a lonely buffalo, an introspective reflection or a work of art from nature – this is the way I can share with you some of the special things I've seen.
There is no beauty so great….as beauty shared!
Whoever coined that phrase may have been talking about photography.
Darrell Tangen has had a passion for photography since he was in elementary school. Not only a passion to take photographs, and not only to share them with others, but to share the knowledge and skills it takes to become a photographer. While in high school, he began to seriously pursue the photography career as yearbook and school newspaper photographer. After finishing two years of technical education at Staples Technical Institute in photography, he realized that a lot of his passion came from helping others to imagine, capture and print photographs. And his teaching career began.
After having the opportunity to provide corporate training in Minneapolis, in Europe, Australia and across North America, Darrell began teaching in the photography program at Dakota County Technical College. He has been a mixture of photofinishing and photography, traditional and digital, for over 18 years now and has recently taken his photography to a new level.
Trained and passionate as a technician and scientist, he struggled with the abstractness and illogic that can create art. Photography can be a philosophical mix of the two, sometimes opposing, worlds. Finding a balance between the two has brought new passion and ideas to the forefront and everything seems new again.
These images are from three bodies of work that he is presently working on. The first is a lifelong quest to photograph as many lighthouses in the United States as he can to capture and preserve a fleeting glimpse of our history. The historical and romantic aspect of lighthouses has fascinated many people, and many lighthouses are being restored to this end.
Others, abandoned and remote, have no benefactors and may fall to disrepair and ruin. Our local famous lighthouse, Split Rock, is one of the lucky ones and will be celebrating 100 years very soon. The flower images come from very recent projects. The “flower frames” look inside the shape and richness of a tiny world that few seldom enjoy. The boldness of color combined with the gracefulness of nature, emphasized by electronic focusing elements, create contemporary images. The flower hearts series explores these phenomena even more by peering closer into the blossom to discover the beauty of lines, structures and colors. By not seeing the whole flower, one feels like an alien seeing a strange landscape for the first time.
