Indie Spotlight: William Panuska

Each month, we’ll highlight one indie photographer whose body of work deserves special recognition. Please enjoy their photography here, and make it a point to enjoy the rest of their work on their website.

This month, we’re featuring William Panuska, from upstate New York. We were attracted to William’s wonderful eye, and his strong sense of composition. Anyone who can make a porta-potty look interesting (and even attractive) is worth checking out! With no further ado, we introduce:

William “Bill” Panuska

“I have been shooting since 1960, when I realized how much I responded to this means of communication. At the time, the Time-Life Series of books on Photography was quite influential, featuring greats like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eugene Atget, Ernst Haas [I loved his motion work], and everyone in the index to Looking At Photographs by Szarkowski. Also, Olivia Parker’s still life studies, and John Sexton were inspiring. All these influences articulated the magic of the medium and led to a lifetime hobby.

“I began teaching elementary school in 1973, when SLR cameras were just showing up. Parents at the time only saw one photo of their child at school per year—the studio portrait. I used my camera often, pasting candids onto student work, or on displays. Families reacted well, appreciating the view into their child’s daily school life.

“Eventually I moved to a gifted-talented program, which offered the luxury of a darkroom. There, my middle school students produced the yearbook and many creative projects which featured their faces and photos. Incidentally, the darkroom, with no eye contact plus the sensory stimulation of the developing chemicals, triggered many discussions and served as a great counseling chamber for students’ growing-up issues.

“Since then, I have retired from the Poughkeepsie City Schools and now work as an adjunct at Marist. My free-time photography continues with daily shooting and the endless quest for isolating significant details from my personal view.”