About Jeff Curto

ADEPortrait800pxPhotographer Jeff Curto is Professor Emeritus of Photography at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where he taught from 1984 to 2014. Courses frequently taught included History of Photography, which spawned the popular History of Photography Podcast. His teaching efforts earned him an Honorable Mention in the Santa Fe Center for Photography’s annual Teacher of the Year – Patron Saint of Photography award for 2007.

In 2013, Jeff was named as an Apple Distinguished Educator. Each year for the last 20, Apple Computer has selected 100 educators who are ambassadors, advisors, advocates, and authors of authentic and innovative content and Jeff has now joined that group of 2000 education professionals.

Starting in the spring of 2009, Jeff began leading photography workshops in Italy. See www.photographitaly.com for more information.

Prior to employment at College of DuPage, Jeff worked extensively as a freelance photographer, specializing in event and public relations photography, architectural interiors and exteriors, portrait and product photography. Further, Jeff spent time in the photo-processing industry, working primarily as a custom photographic printer in both B&W and color.

Illinois Wesleyan University awarded Jeff a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1981 and a he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Bennington College in Vermont in 1983. Additionally, he attended Ansel Adams’ last workshop in Carmel, California in the summer of 1983.

Jeff exhibits his work regularly in both group and one-person shows. His glowing black and white and color prints are contained in numerous private and corporate collections.

Examples of Jeff Curto’s work can be found on his website at www.jeffcurto.com

Email Jeff at: jeff@jeffcurto.com

31 thoughts on “About Jeff Curto”

  1. Jeff

    Your Camera Position and History of Photography podcasts are keeping me sane as I look after my elderly Mum and slowly save for my first DSLR. Thank you.

    David Rogers
    Brisbane, Australia

    PS. I listen to your podcasts late at night when everyone else is in bed—my flatmate says you have a very nice voice to go to sleep to… 🙂

  2. David;

    Glad I’m helping your sanity! I sometimes feel a bit insane when I’m sitting talking to my self and making these things, so it probably all evens out.

    At least a few of my students would probably agree to the “he has a nice voice to go to sleep to”….

    🙂

    -Jeff

  3. Jeff,

    I’ve just discovered your highly interesting podcasts via iTunes. After downloading about 5 randomly I have found the contents and discussion points of immense interest. I have now subscribed but will use the holiday season to catch on on the back catalogue….

    Keep up the great work

    Kevin Goodchild ( UK based enthusiast )

  4. Thanks, Kevin…

    I appreciate your interest and support!

    I’m hoping to use the holiday season to record new content, so once you catch up, there will be new episodes!

    -Jeff

  5. I just found you at iTunes and now your web site. At iTunes your first 8 issues of Camera Position are not listed but I see that your web site goes all the way back, with support information.
    I like to start at the beginning, guess I am weird or something, but I find that it is going to take a lot of clicks on the next button at the bottom of each page to get back to issue #1 where I would like to start.
    So, is there any way that you can put an Archive list on your website so that I can choose which cast I would like to listen to, rather than having to click all the way through each time I visit your site?
    Thanks in advance
    JH, Ontario Canada

  6. Hi, John;

    Thanks for your comment and for your support!

    An archive is a great suggestion; you’ll now find one in the “sidebar” of every page. I didn’t want the iTunes list to get too darn big, so I limited the number you see on the iTunes store.

    I’ve had a terrible time of late with my WordPress blog theme (the thing that provides the “look and feel” of the site) reverting back to a “default” look, which totally messes up the “sidebar” on the left side of the page. So, the theme might get messed up again and remove the Archive list that I’ve now added, but… that’s life with technology, right?

    Thanks again… keep listening and keep shooting!

    -Jeff

  7. Thanks, you are doing a great job!!!!!

    a hug from DOminican Republic… you have a fan club here!!

  8. Ciao Jeff,

    Thanks for this and your History of Photography podcasts. Your podcasts have been instrumental in reigniting my interest in photography.

    Keep up the great work… please!

  9. Hello Jeff,

    Just found your site and podcasts today – thank you for sharing! Your views and insights have reignited my creative thinking.

    -Faye White, Atlanta, GA

  10. Hey Jeff,

    I love your postion on photography. After learning the technical aspect of photography via podcast and manual, its a relief to listen to this creative and inspiring podcast.

    I also have an inquiry. I am a new and young photographer; seventeen years old and recieved my first camera just this christmas.

    I am currently in Europe and will be traveling to Italia in a few weeks. Due to your love of this great land I wanted to just ask if you have ever been to Lazise by lago de Garda and if by chance you could give me any creative insight on the place. Unfortunately, my visit there will not soley be focused on photography, although I’ll keep my camera close. My family will be there also and will want to keep moving. This will restrict my composition time quit sufficiently. What do you suggest.

    Thanks a bunch,

    alex

  11. Hi, Alex;

    Thank you for your comment post and for your kind words. I got my first “real” camera around your age… congratulations!

    Unfortunately, I’ve not been to that area of Italy yet. Or, rather, the time I spent in the lake district was *so* long ago that I don’t know if I have any specific information about it.

    My suggestion is to keep your eyes open and think about possibilities of photographs around you even when you are with your family. I had a couple of trips to India a number of years ago that were very much about business, but I was still able to grab a number of shots that I still like in between meetings, etc.

    All best, and thanks for listening!

    -Jeff

  12. Hi Jeff;
    I’m a new listener to your pod cast and your History of Photography. I’m listening to your pod cast in the car to and from work to you older podcast and working my way up to you current show. I’m enjoying them and find them well done, nice job.

    Below is a link to a collection of the Russian Photographer to the Czar. Some of this collection was exhibited at the Russian Museum of Art in Minneapolis recently. The photographs are amazing, large transparencies back lite in color done in the early 20th century. The Library of Congress has a good expiation of the process. I love browsing the LOC site looking at these images of Russia before the revolution.

    http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/prokhtml/prokabt.html

    I just thought of passing it on in case you don’t know about this. Thanks again for a good job.
    Scott Webster

  13. Jeff
    I have been listening to your podcasts with great delight as I travel to my photography course and around the land. I thought I had caught up but to my horror sadly, I discovered I had not downloaded episodes 37-48.
    I had originally thought I got the lot (back catalogue from itunes) but just I was studying the zones theory in class I realise I have missed both your sessions
    I have downloaded the PDF thanks for that. However is there a better way than individual downloading for your archive.
    I am having dreadful trouble with the Quicktime and there is no archive on RSS.
    You may not need to be told I am not that computer savvy. However I can click subscribe and get episode etc and thought I was wonderful educating my self with your help both creatively and historically!
    Look forward to your reply. I know you love comments but this one is not perhaps going to be your favourite!
    Emma

  14. Hi, Emma;

    First, thanks for listening… I really appreciate it!

    Probably the best way to get the whole archive of the podcasts is to use iTunes. Though it’s an Apple software, it’s available as a free download for both Mac and Windows platforms.
    http://www.apple.com/itunes/

    If you download that and then subscribe to Camera Position (which you’ll find in the iTunes store’s podcast section) you can choose to “download all” and you’ll get all the episodes. Or, you can choose just a small group of episodes you want to download.

    Use this link, which will take you right to the iTunes store entry for the podcasts.
    http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=333337508

    Even though it says “store,” the podcasts are free to download.

    I hope that helps!

    -Jeff

  15. An update on Emma’s situation:

    Here’s the skinny, so far as I can tell. The older podcasts are hosted on a “secondary” server at my hosting company. This allows the most current podcasts to get faster downloads (logical for newer, more “popular” podcasts) and the older ones to still be there, but on a slower server. There is some sort of behind-the-scenes web coding stuff that happens that allows the hosting company to be able to keep the same URL for the podcasts, but move them to a different server.

    Based on my own testing, using Firefox, the podcasts do as you say they do; they don’t show up and you get the weird “?” QuickTime symbol. Using Safari (which you can get for both Mac and Windows) it seems to work perfectly. I have a support call in to the hosting company to see why it’s messed up.

    But… the easiest way is to use iTunes. Because I’d been having some trouble with the feed, I’d limited the archive to 10 podcasts, but it’s now back to allowing downloads all the way back to the first episode. Here’s the web address:
    http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=333337508

    That will launch iTunes and you’ll be able to find the rest of the podcasts.

    Thanks, sorry for the trouble and… thanks for listening!

  16. Hi Jeff,
    I discovered the podcast “camera position” on iTunes and just “work” them for the beginning… you’ve done a great job.
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts and images with us.

    Some of the aspects raised in your podcasts weren’t new for me. But it is still a very nice experience to remember them.

    Keep on …
    Peter

  17. Thanks, Peter… I really appreciate that you took the time to leave a comment and especially that you took the time to listen.

    Thank you for the support!

    -Jeff

  18. Hi Jeff,

    Many thanks for taking the time and effort to put together such an inspiring and informative photographic podcast set. I feel very fortunate to have found your excellent web site.

    I have been listening to your podcasts for around a week only and am finding all of the episodes extremely refreshing and educational. I just recently rekindled my photographic hobby as a way to challenge my creativity and your podcasts have been wonderful.

    I am very interested in developing my photos into slide shows and recently purchased Photodex proshow slideshow software. If you could see away of including something along these lines in a future podcast episode that would be great.

    Thanks again for the inspiration.

    Glenn

  19. Hi, Glenn;

    Thanks for listening and thanks for leaving a comment!

    I’m planning to spend some time talking about various ways to “distribute” work that you produce.. it will be part of the “project planning roadmap” series of podcasts. I will probably touch on Proshow as one of the ways to put work out there to varying audiences.

    All best, and thanks again!

    -Jeff

  20. Hello Jeff,
    Today I discovered your podcasts on iTunes and was pleasantly surprised to find your creative approach to teaching photography. I have been looking for something like this for a long time. I found two books titled “The Tao of Photography” that helped describe the state of mind when finding subjects to shoot. I find that when I take my camera and go outside, the subject often finds me. I really appreciate your experience with composition. Though I have loved taking photographs since getting my Roy Rogers box camera at age nine, retirement has allowed me the time to travel and spend time exploring the area around our home amid the Redwoods on the northern coast of California. After years of using film, I switched to digital about five years ago. Last month on my 68th birthday, I gave myself an Olympus E3 DSLR and am loving the options this camera gives me.
    Thank you for sharing your love of photography.
    Sincerely yours,
    Dan Tubbs

  21. Hey:)
    I just wanted to thank you! You make very interesting podcasts, and i feel like i´m learning something every time I watch an episode. Beacuse of you, my facination of the camera and the photography. I have even startert a photo diary, and I just want to recomend that to everyone. it is very fun, and you can either make a digital photo diary, or make a kind of scrapbook. Very fun:) And i use my fathers old camera 🙂 old cameras has a lot more soul then new digital has. What is your favourit camera? I know you use one large formated camera, but what do you think of digital cameraes?
    But thanks again for a fantastisc podcast, which inspires me too be make a loot of photographs.

    Sincerely yours,
    Arne from oslo, Norway

    ps. Sorry for my spelling mistakes, i´m not very good in english…

  22. Thanks for the wonderful History of Photography podcasts. I learned about it from the “This week in Photography” podcast and am hooked. I look forward to every class session. Thanks again.

    Travis Chinn

  23. Arne;

    Thanks….

    I love cameras of all sorts and types. I think it’s one of the things that makes photography interesting… all the machines that we have access to and use.

    I love digital cameras; they get better all the time and are interesting to use because of their immediate feedback. I do agree, though, that older cameras have more “soul”… maybe it’s because they’ve seen more!

    -Jeff

  24. Hi Jeff,

    I just started listening to your Podcasts . I love them . I like your Humor in class too.

    You are truly an inspiration to listen too I needed a lift.

    Your fan from South Africa.

    Marius Henning

  25. Thanks, Marius! I think one of the most interesting parts about doing the podcasts is being able to connect with people from all over the world! Thanks for listening!

  26. Since your app upgrade, I have no longer be able to use it on my Ipad. It still works on my laptop.

  27. Hi, Alan;

    Thanks for listening!

    I don’t develop the app, but rather just make it available for folks to use.

    Support for the app can be had here: http://wizzard.tv/app_support They have been very helpful with a few users who have had problems previously and will work with you to make sure your app works on your device.

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A Podcast About the Creative Side of Photography