All About the Author

Stuart Oring, the author, studied photography under Minor White, Charlie Arnold and Ralph Hattersley at the Rochester Institute of Technology – where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1959. In 1970, he received a Master of Arts degree in Communication from American University.

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Mr. Oring has had more than 25 years experience, as a visual information specialist, in the Federal Government. In addition, Mr. Oring has taught photography for more than 20 years on a part time basis at Prince George’s Community College. He has lectured at the University of Maryland (Baltimore Campus) and at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

 

His experience includes: several years of photographic work in commercial and advertising studios, industrial photography, and freelance photography and writing. His articles and photographs have appeared in numerous publications including: Popular Photography, the Rangefinder, Photo Methods for Industry, Scientific American, Photographic Business and Product News, School Arts, the New York Times, various trade publications, brochures for I.B.M. and Tecfab, pamphlets for Pfizer Drugs and Potomac Iron Works, and Eastman Kodak’s book Help Your Community Through Photography. Photographs taken while at the Office of Economic Opportunity have appeared in pamphlets, Opportunity Magazine, and Sidney Lens’ book: Poverty: Yesterday and Today – published by Crowell. Photographs taken at the U.S. Department of Agriculture appeared in yearbooks, the magazine Agricultural Research, exhibits, pamphlets, slide shows,
and television.

Photographic research undertaken between 1955 and 1970, culminated in a dissertation titled: “A Comparative Investigation of Similarities and Differences in the Aesthetic Theories of Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Minor White.” A considerable amount of material from that research has been utilized in this publication. Since 1969, the author has been studying how Synchronicity Systems, such as the I Ching, can be used as effective tools in the analysis of photographs. He has been interested in the discovery and use of new systems to expand upon the information that can be derived from the visual image.

The book: Understanding Pictures: theories, exercises, and procedures has been sold to prestigious art and photography museums, college and public libraries, various college departments, photographers, artists, and individuals who are interested in the visual image and how to understand it.

 

Because of the significance of this material in the field of visual communication, the author’s biographical information has been included in such publications as:
 Who’s Who in the World. 1995-
 Who’s Who in America. 1996-
 Who’s Who ins the East. 1993-
 Men of Achievement. 1994-
 The Dictionary of International Biography 1994-

Memberships have included such organizations as: Society of Photographic Education and Board Member to the American Society of Psychopathology of Expression.

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On August 4, 2000, Mr. Oring presented a paper at the 108th Annual Convention of the Association of the American Psychological Association at Washington, D.C. titled: Associations In Art And Photography: Their Role And Their Validity. In that same year, he presented a research paper on how principles of creativity can be applied to develop new and more effective procedures for understanding pictures to: the Proceedings of the A.S.P.E. Congress in Boston.

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Recent work includes:
Development of a computer program with modules to help in the understanding of pictures.
A research paper on The Aesthetic Theories of Minor White.
Continued research and work on new procedures to help in the understanding of pictures.

Special Award:
Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis (Publishers of Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World) awarded in 2021.

Created e-books titled:
The Aesthetic Theories of Minor White
Artificial Intelligence & Photography
A Crow’s Tale-Dreams and Fantasies
Chess Fantasies
Photojournalism: Words, Pictures and Layout
A Master’s Guide to Pictures: Tapping Into The Subconscious Mind