Arts & Entertainment
Mar Vista Photographer Captures Italian Cities and Local Wildlife
Stephen Boskin is displaying his work at the West Los Angeles Municipal Building this month.
From the canals of Venice, Italy, to a stern-looking hawk perched atop a backyard fence, the photographic work of Stephen Boskin pulls in the observer with color and light.
For that reason, the length of Boskin's career surprised visitors at the opening of his “Bellos Guardos” photography exhibition Thursday at the West Los Angeles Municipal Building. He has been a photographer for only five years.
"I'm just a rookie at this," said Boskin, a Mar Vista resident and former member of the Mar Vista Community Council.
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But he has decades of close proximity to visual industries behind him. In the 1960s, Boskin spent several years working for a film processing company. He went to film and television sets five days a week, where he talked to cinematographers and picked up tips that proved valuable later in life.
Later, Boskin worked in the graphic arts field in Dallas, for companies such as Texas Instruments. He also became friends with Bob Jackson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who took the picture of Jack Ruby assassinating Lee Harvey Oswald.
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"He's a genius when it comes to printing and looking at my work and saying, 'This would look better this way,' " Boskin said.
Boskin retired about six years ago. He launched his photography career by taking pictures at the Mar Vista Farmer's Market while serving as outreach coordinator for the community council.
Every Sunday for 18 months, Boskin photographed local kids at the market. He printed the pictures during the week. Then, at the next market, he gave them out to parents for free.
The hobby transformed into a business when he photographed ducks with their young at a koi pond near his house. The pictures were hugely popular, and people started asking the price.
In 2008, he officially started Stephen Boskin Photography. His exhibits remain free and for the community, he said.
"That's where I am today," Boskin said. "And I love every minute of it."
The “Bellos Guardos” exhibit runs until Aug. 31.
