Meet Jack and Beverly

*Udated February 2009*

We are photographers, computer artists, and collectors. We both have undergraduate degrees in art and received our graduate degrees in photography at the Institute of Design in Chicago. We have been married for more than 40 years and share interests/obsessions in the history and prehistory of photography and the computer, reading mysteries and science fiction, rummaging through flea markets and antique shows, and collecting a wide range of things. Visit our site Jack and Beverly's Collections of Collections to see some of the things we collect and The Magic Mirror of Life: An Appreciation of the Camera Obscura to learn about our ongoing research.

Photography was the focus of our life for years but in 1985 we bought a computer to catalog our books. In the years that have passed since then about three shelves (out of over 50) have been catalogued. With the advent of the computer our life made a paradigm shift. Our first computer was an Amiga. We became those annoying people who said at every chance, "But what about the Amiga?" It was a sad day when we bundled up the Amigas and passed them along to someone who is building a Commodore collection.

For years we ran Mac programs on an AMAX board in the Amiga, and ran them very well, thank you. But in 1994 we had to accept the inevitable and buy a Macintosh. Beverly used one for years in her corporate graphics job and Jack taught computer courses on Macs so there was no question as to the platform we would move to. Now if Apple doesn't fold or sell its soul to Microsoft we are all set!

With our common interest in photography and computers we often collaborate and assist each other on projects and exhibitions. Since 1986 we have called our collaboration Bright Bytes Studio. We are continuing to research and collect information and artifacts about our primary area of interest (obsession), the history and application of the camera obscura. A book about the camera obscura is under way.

Jack retired from his postion as Chair and Professor of Photography and Art History at the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2008. He plans to become more involved with astronemy, in which he has a long held interest. He enjoys Sherlock Holmes, hard boiled mysteries, and cyber punk fiction, especially William Gibson.

Beverly retired in 2003 from her position in the technology services department of a vehicle management company doing computer graphics, web graphics and web design. She is enjoying the opportunity to expand a number of web sites she designed and maintains. She accepts a limited number of freelance assignments. She reads English mysteries, with a preference for women writers of the 20's through 40's.

Sad update:

On February 3, 2009 we lost a very important family member, Ada Lovelace. We called her Lacy. She came to us in October, 1996, when she was a lost puppy found on the street by a colleague of Jack's. She was a very loving dog with a strong personality and was the light of our life. Jack thought she looked like the Polish Lowland Sheep dogs he saw on the internet. Lacy was named for Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1853) who is sometimes called the first computer programmer.

In 2000 when she was 4 years old we realized that there was a problem when she started to bump into doors and objects left in unexpected places. We were shocked to find that under her long hair she had sever cataracts and was completely blind. We were fortunate to find a wonderful vet, Janet Isherwood, who specializes in disease of the eye. Cataract surgery was traumatic for all of us but a wonderful success. Lacy had excellent vision for the remaining nine years of her life

In 2007 Lacy was diagnosed with Cushing's disease caused by an adrenal carcinoma that was removed. We were told it was completely contained and had not spread. An adrenalectomy is very serious surgery but she recovered really well. In summer of 2008 she was diagnosed with pituitary Cushing's and was being successfully treaded with Trilostane.

In in January 2009 we learned that she had cancer and on February 3, 2009 we let her go with much sadness and tears. We will hold her in our heart forever.

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Visit Jack and Beverly's Collection of Collections

Contact us at studio@brightbytes.com

Updated on 2/2009