Photographic Composition

Richard Zakia is a 1956 graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Some of his classmates at the time were Carl Chiarenza, Peter Bunnell, Bruce Davidson, Ken Josephson, Pete Turner and Jerry Uelsmann. Minor White was a member of the faculty and Beaumont Newhall was Adjunct. It was a great and enriching mix. After graduation he was employed as a photographic engineer in the Color Technology Division of Eastman Kodak. During the Sputnik era he decided teaching was his vocation and accepted a position with RIT where he served for 34 years. For a time he was Director of Instructional Research and Development and Chair of the Fine Art Photography Department and graduate program in Imaging Arts. He is a recipient of the Eisenhart Outstanding Teaching Award. Zakia has authored and co-authored thirteen books on photography and perception. He is also the co-editor with Dr. Leslie Stroebel of the third edition (1993) of The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography and a contributor to the fourth edition (2007). His most recent book is Teaching Photography with Dr. Glen Rand. David A. Page is a retired Duke University fine arts photographer. He was a student of Dr. Zakia at Rochester Institute of Technology and graduated in 1966. He and professor Zakia have been close friends and have collaborated on photographic projects ever since. David began his career as a photographic quality control engineer for Polaroid Corporation. Later he joined Data Corporation as a Photo-scientist specializing in the new field of Color Reconnaissance for the military during the Vietnam War era. For a time he was employed by NASA and was in charge of the critical processing of film for the Apollo 11 moon landing. His writing and images have been published in several books including the Focal Press Encyclopedia of Photography, and in a number of magazines, such as Sports Illustrated.