Goodman ’69 Featured in Digital Photography Review

Tom Goodman’s (’69) career in photography has spanned many different mediums. From being a full-time photographer, an instructor, to operating an agency, Goodman has always been fascinated by the art of photography.

After graduating Wesleyan with an honors degree in art, he went on to earn his MFA in photography from the University of New Mexico, which was the catalyst that launched his career. In 1975 he was hired by the University of Texas at San Antonio to develop the photography program. Three years later he moved to Philadelphia to teach at the University of the Arts (then the Philadelphia College of Art). He also taught history of Art at the Curtis Institute of Music. Goodman went on to create Tom Goodman Inc., an agency that formerly represented photographers and digital illustrators for commercial assignments for 25 years.

After retiring from the commercial business in 2009, Goodman began photographing again. Now, eight years after he has resumed taking pictures full time, his work from his highly focused portfolios is being featured in Digital Photography Review, one of the premier photography sites on the web.

Using a Nikon D750 and Sony DSC-RX100, Goodman states that “serendipity plays a significant part” in how he chooses his subjects—one could even say that he waits for his subjects to choose him. As shown by The Veils Portfolio, which grew out of his obsession with looking through screens, and other ‘veils’ to see things on the other side and the Scanned Portfolio, which contains images taken while shopping in Asian groceries, Goodman simply observes and lets his surroundings present themselves as possible targets.

Most importantly, he credits his mentor, Ray Metzker, for providing him with the advice that he tries to apply to his work daily—“it is the artist’s lot to accept, indeed embrace, not knowing, in order to begin the journey of discovery and achieve some breakthrough.” For Tom Goodman his next challenge will be to continue to follow that advice.

View Goodman’s website.

(Story by Fred Wills ’19. All images copyrighted, Tom Goodman)