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[All Photographs copyrighted 2008/2009/2010/2011/2012 Patrick Foy]

“A photographer was lucky, if he produced just 10 great images.”--Ted Croner

I have been taking photographs since the mid-1970s, with my first job out of college, when I worked as an assistant magazine editor. There have been a few exhibitions of my work in Miami Beach and three in Switzerland...at the Hotel Olden in Gstaad in 1997--“Footpath to Paradise”--at the Gstaad Palace Hotel in 1998--“Final Snapshots, IInd Millennium” and in St. Moritz at the Oertli Galerie in February, 2001--“Photographs from Two Continents”.

Retaining the spirit of an amateur, I take photos of subjects and situations which interest me.  Like many others, I have been influenced by Cartier-Besson’s idea of the “decisive moment”.  Instinct and chance are paramount, not staging.

I use Carl Zeiss 35-millimeter mechanical cameras from the 1960’s and early 1970’s in addition to the compact Contax T-2 camera of recent years, which also has Zeiss optics. No digital camera, except for that in the I-Phone. I am a fan of the Polaroid SX-70, but Polaroid has discontinued the film as well as the camera. I have some limited experience with the Minox classic “spy camera”.

Most photos in the exhibitions were of Ireland, Venice, New York City, Switzerland, with a some nudes and glamor shots of South Beach models and nightlife. The photo above was taken at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The one immediately below was taken on a train leaving Munich during Oktoberfest.