09/10/2024
I am Jan Sexson, a happily retired professional photographer. I grew up in my father's studio before roll film was invented, when the image in the camera was reversed. I loved spending time in the darkroom with my Dad as he developed the sheet film, then hung each sheet on a line with a clothespin to dry. I watched the magic as my Aunt Aggie projected the image from the negative onto paper and watched the image slowly appear in the developing tray. My Mom used to sit at our kitchen table, for hours on end, hand oil painting portraits. As a kid, it was my job to carefully remove any excess paint from whites of eyes, teeth, and pearl necklaces, with a bit of cotton on an orange stick dipped in linseed oil. It has been amazing to be a part in all the changes over the years. Sheet film became roll film. Color film and faster speed films became available. Then came the digital age! In 1987 I started keeping records on a computer instead of by hand and eventually switched from my prized film Mamiya RB67 to a digital Canon 5DMarkII. Even it's outdated now but still gives me the highest quality photos. As computer technology improved, I started learning an amazing new program called Photoshop. I could remove blemishes, soften wrinkles, enhance eyes, just enough for my subject to see themselves as the person their friends and loved ones saw instead of them focusing on their minor flaws, as we all tend to do. My father, Joe Mrosko, was a former Marine photographer in World War 2. He was sent into Nagasaki to photograph the destruction right after it was bombed, before the troops landed. He was given no protective clothing and was terribly ill from the radiation for years. You can Google his name to see interviews with him and a few of his photos. My Dad taught me a lot about photography and running a business. I went to professional photography conventions and seminars from the time I was little and, over the years, had the privilege of learning from the very best photographers in the country. I attended classes at the Winona International School of Professional Photography and opened my own studio in 1984. I continued attending the seminars and conventions, always hungry to learn more. Other photographers from the Southern Illinois Art League and the Associated Professional Photographers of Illinois were willing to share their knowledge. For nine years I was on the Board of Directors of the APPI and an officer for 4 years. I cherish those years. My children went with me to the conventions, just as I had with my parents, but none of them took an interest. Eventually, I closed my Illinois studio and moved to CT to be with Hans. I reopened my studio there and became involved with the CT Professional Photographers Assoc. I was a Board member for 4 years before moving to MI and retiring. I made some very dear friends in CT and sometimes I miss the "old life".
These days true professional photography is rarely appreciated like it used to be. Knowledge and experience in lighting, posing, studying facial features to get the most flattering image of your subject, has, all too often, been replaced with snapshots on a cell phone. Oh my! The changes I've witnessed. Isn't technology awesome! I focus now on restoring old photographs that are faded and damaged, pieces missing. It's important to me to preserve those old photos with the memories and history they preserve.
