INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE

Chip Joffe-Halpern Photograph Saturday Night in July

CHIP JOFFE-HALPERN PHOTOGRAPHY Prague

Chip, what were some of the reasons you decided to become a photographer?

Chip Joffe-Halpern: When I moved to the Berkshires after graduate school in Albany (Master’s Degree in Social Welfare) I fell in love with the landscape of Berkshire County and I wanted to capture it in photographs. Then I got married and we had two children and I started to photograph them. I had an early exhibit titled “Rebecca, Noah, and Friends.” That can be intrusive, though. Lucky for them I started photographing for the former North Adams Transcript. When I was oncall as a photographer, I might have to go out at 3:00 in the morning and photograph firemen putting out fires. It was fun being a newspaper photographer, this included free film and being part for the community.

How much time in your life does photography take up?

Chip: It depends on the time of year and how comfortable it is going outside to take photographs. Now I photograph a couple of hours a day. When the weather is warm, I take my camera and tripod Interview by Harryet Candee

out at night on our hill in Williamstown. It’s beautiful at 10:00 at night with my camera and tripod on our hill photographing the night sky.

How have you separated, or put into categories the works you have done for personal use and for journalistic use?

Chip: Works for personal use is about love: love of landscape and love of family. As a grandfather, I try not to be too intrusive, because the camera can be annoying. The writer Calvin Trillin once said that being a grandparent is the only thing in life that really is everything it’s cracked up to be. I don’t want to ruin it with my camera.

Tell us about the cameras you use? What kind of printing takes place on what kind of paper?

Chip: I use a Canon EOS camera, it is compact and easy to use. I like Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy. For night photography, a sturdy tripod is necessary. When I photograph at night at the side of the road, sometimes people will stop their cars and ask me if I’m all right. It’s unusual to see someone on a hill at 10:00 at night with their camera and tripod.

Tell us about some of the challenges you confronted with taking photos.

Chip: Now, the challenges are solely the weather. When I was a newspaper photographer, and that was many years ago, you had to be careful. That depended on the situation, I encountered.

Who would you say is a profoundly amazing photographer of the 20th century and why? Who has been your mentor?

Chip: I feel Joel Meyerowitz and Ansel Adams are profoundly amazing photographers of the 20th century. My work is nothing like their work. The photographer who has personally inspired and helped me is Eileen Counihan. Eileen’s night photography is beautiful, and she has taught me a lot!

Tell us about a day in the life of Chip, please.

Chip: Now I am retired, so I have too much free time on my hands. We are lucky that our daughter, son-in-law and two wonderful grandchildren live down the road. Continued on next page...

Chip Joffe Halpern Photograph Reservoir

Chip Joffe Halpern Photograph North Adams

One night I took our granddaughter out at night to photograph the night sky and the stars, it as such a joy and I look forward to doing that again.

Your wife is an artist so you have said. Can you tell us a little about her and her work?

Chip: Ellen is a mixed media artist who has studio in North Adams. She has been an Art Therapist and Art Teacher. She has exhibited her work throughout the Berkshires and New England. She tries to playful and her paintings are based on her sketchbook observations. Her web-site is joffearts.com

Have you ever jointly worked on a piece of art?

Chip: We critique each other’s work. She has taught me a lot about composition and has inspired and encouraged me in my work.

Has the Corona virus days affected life as a photographer?

Chip: I can’t say the Corona days have affected me too much. I am looking forward to warmer days and nights so I feel more comfortable going out on our hill with my camera and tripod.

At this point in life, for you, what have you actually come to the conclusion of that makes sense of everything?

Chip: At this point in my life I am appreciative of every moment. The blues singer Bonnie Raitt once said “life gets more precious when there is less of it to waste.” Being 70 years old, being retired and not being consumed with anxieties of work, I understand that now.

With all your photographs you have taken, what are some of your plans for them?

Chip: I hope to have more exhibits locally in Berkshire County. Harryet, thank you so much. You have made me think and want to go out photographing more! Thank you, Chip!