Gene Burch was afraid he’d never get the picture.
He was suspended in a cherry picker surrounded by power lines and stuck with a malfunctioning lens.
“I had to get the shot or I’d be humiliated,” Gene remembers.
The assignment: shoot a “family photo” for the city of Frankfort by photographing the 750 or so at the 4th of July celebration on the Old Capitol lawn more than a decade ago.
Gene said his wide-angle lens wasn’t working, and he had to switch to another.
He was able to shoot a few pictures, and one was worth printing, so he avoided embarrassment.
“If I hadn’t got the shot, I might never have taken another photo.”
He prefers scenic photography to portraits or photojournalism – there’s too much stress involved with getting the perfect picture, Gene said.
“But if you go out to a horse farm and don’t get it, you can go out again tomorrow.”
A dentist in Frankfort since 1975, Gene, 63, first became interested in photography while serving in the Army. He was drafted in 1969 and assigned to the Pentagon as a clerk-typist.
“It was a hell of a lot better than being sent to Vietnam.”
There was an arts and crafts activity center at the base, and Gene got a camera from a friend. He learned to shoot scenic photos at night in Washington, D.C., including the Capitol, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
After his discharge in 1971, Gene went to the University of Kentucky dental school.
He made a pact with himself when he opened his dental practice in Frankfort: I’ll shoot one roll of film each week.
“I didn’t smoke. I thought I could take that money and go out and shoot each week.”
Frankfort is very photogenic, Gene says, and he gets suggestions from patients for locations he should capture.
“One day, I was coming down Louisville Hill and thought this looked like an idyllic little European town nestled in the valley.”
In 1987 he hosted a gallery at Rick’s City Café on the St. Clair Mall and began selling prints. In 1992 he designed and sold his first Frankfort calendar, which continued until this year.
“No way did I set a goal to do this,” Gene said. “It just sort of evolved.”
His sixth book, “Historic Frankfort Yesterday and Today,” will be available soon, and he’s already starting his seventh about Frankfort during the Civil War.
He shoots pictures now with a Canon 5D Mark II digital camera. The resolution is 21 megapixels, enough to blow up an image to “the size of a billboard,” Gene said.
The best times to shoot are early morning and later afternoon, because the light is best then. He also enjoys shooting after storms or during rainbows for more dramatic lighting.
Gene uses a technique called high-dynamic range that combines under-exposed and over-exposed pictures to create a more life-like image. He said it allows the photo to show more detail in dark or shadowy areas and looks more like the actual image.
His favorite season is spring, because the leaves are budding and flowers bloom. Autumn used to be his favorite but has lacked color the last few years.
“I remember more red, yellows and oranges. We’ve had so many droughts, the leaves just turn brown.”
Gene’s also expanded his horizons and attends photography workshops in places like the national parks of Yosemite in California and Utah’s Bryce Canyon. Guides take photographers on tours and show them the best places and times to take a picture.
He gets goose bumps as he describes how the early morning light reflects off the walls of Bryce Canyon.
Photography is also a great way to relax. Dealing with several dozen people who are in discomfort at the office each day can be stressful, he said.
However, his love for photography has even infiltrated his professional work. He takes photos of his patients about every five years and attaches them to their files.
Several years ago, he even had a mini-studio set up for that purpose with soft boxes and special lights.
The walls of his office, located in Fountain Place, are also lined with examples of his work – sometimes he sells them or donates them to charity silent auctions.
His River Bend home also has a dramatic view of Frankfort, including the Capitol, Kentucky State University and Frankfort Cemetery.
There’s a welded metal statue in his garden that depicts a bentover man looking through a view-camera. Gene calls him Adam Ansel, an homage to the photographer Ansel Adams famous for his photos of Old Faithful and the Grand Teton.
Working on books and calendars is a lot of hard work, and selling them is even harder – 2010 will be the first year without a calendar by Gene.
“It’s got to be another job,” he said.
Now semi-retired from his dentistry practice, Gene says he’ll keep taking pictures as long as he can carry a camera and people are interested in his work.
“Frankfort Faces” is a series that highlights people from within the Frankfort and Franklin County community. Each feature follows one of the city’s most unique personalities and includes a story, photos and video, which can be found by clicking the TV icon attached to the story online at state-journal.com.