Some especially passionate people are “born again Christians.” In contrast, David Brodherson is a born again photographer. After a stint as a professional athlete, he resumed his formal education ultimately receiving a Ph. D. in 1993 from Cornell University concentrating on the history of art, architecture and urban development. During this transition from sports to design, he also studied photography at Utah State University and wrote a thesis about the history of photography at the University of Chicago.
Later, he concentrated on design history largely funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts; at the same time he collaborated with the Art Institute of Chicago on award-winning exhibitions and exhibit catalogues. Brodherson recently returned to photography; currently he is documenting design and use of mass transit in New York City.
Throughout these changes he has understood the “importance of being earnest;” yet he also has understood the significance of laughing at himself. This humor has occasionally surfaced in images by or about him.
Photograph credit: Alex Jiang