Rich Wagner

A job as a freelance photographer for Pittsburgh newspapers while in college started his love of photography. It helped with his college expenses, and has provided a source of pleasure for the past 40 years.

Photography remained a hobby during a 20 year career in retailing as a vice president with May Company and Federated Department Stores in Pittsburgh and New York. In 1984 Rich began a custom framing business. Imagine it Framed is located on Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury, CT. The shop has recently been designated as one of "America's Top 100" custom framers by Decor Magazine.

While attending professional photography seminars in New York Ctiy and sharing his photographs with well known professionals including Jay Maisel and Stephen Brown, he was encouraged to show his work. The immediate result was several exhibits in the region.

Currently, his work is in private collections all over the globe, and hangs in public corporations and private foundations from San Diego to Hartford.

Rich teaches at digital photography seminars all over the world. Recent locations have included Paris, Greece, Bermuda, the Bahamas, London, San Francisco, and Denver. If you would like more information about this opportunity, please email us.

The rich beauty of the Farmington Valley, where Rich lives with his wife and five daughters, and the excitement of New York, his previous home, are the sources of most of his photography, although travels and workshops throughout the country have added to his collection of images.

All the photographs begin as either digital images using either a Nikon SLR, or a Leica rangefinder for more intimate "street shooting" and casual portraits. When film is used, the images are then scanned into the computer for final processing. They are printed as Giclée prints on archival paper using pigmented inks with a life expectancy of 100 years. Rich feels this process gives more control over the final image than was previously available using normal color darkroom methods. The colors are richer and more saturated and details in the highlights and shadows hold up well.

All the artwork is archivally prepared, whether just matted or matted and framed.