2006 - Photographer Frederick J. LeBlanc records History

Frederick J. LeBlanc has worked as a professional photojournalist for over twenty-five years. His commercial and editorial images have appeared regularly in regional and national publications. His life-long passion for classic wooden sailing vessels has led him, over the last decade, to document these historic windjammers as they sail, in harmony with the wind and sea.

Viewing himself as a photojournalistic storyteller, he uses his fine art prints to bring to the public a greater awareness and appreciation of our maritime heritage.

Photographer Fred LeBlanc

Through his collection of photographs, he hopes to recall a vanishing era when the waves were broken only by the power of the wind, capturing the majestic beauty of these historic tall ships while offering a visual escape that evokes a longing for the sea.

His current projects include the documentation of the Maine windjammer fleet, the annual Gloucester Schooner Race and various tall ship and classic sailing events and regattas. A lifelong New Englander, he lives in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

In the paragraphs that follow, LeBlanc offers his professional insights into the fine points of digital photography.

Maritime Photographer Frederick J. LeBlanc:
Digital Photography

From my beginnings as a professional photographer, I have made images using traditional black & white and color films as well as all my own black & white printing. When I first started using digital photography I scanned my color and black & white negatives as well as my 35mm slides. Using computer software like Photoshop, the digital scans were then color managed, cropped , sized and, in some cases, enhanced for publication and or printing.

Today I capture my photographic images using digital cameras and no longer photograph using traditional films. I have closed my darkroom and now make all my prints using archival pigment inks on fine art papers.

One of the immediate advantages to using digital cameras is never having to decide whether to use color negative or positive films. If I feel an image should be black & white, I simply convert my color image to black & white using Photoshop. Also, I never have to be concerned about film ASA speeds because a simple camera adjustment sets capture speeds from 200 ASA to 1600 ASA.

With digital camera and computer software programs like Photoshop I am now able to create images that simply were not possible using traditional films in the darkroom.

Color images can be converted to black & white , sepia or any other tone.