Todd Rundstrom
The Story
BEHIND
THE PHOTO
VOLUME 1: 1988-1998
Book Description
The Story Behind the Photo - Volume 1 is a collection of the true stories behind 20 of Todd Rundstrom's most iconic and personally significant images he created between 1988 and 1998, the first decade of his storied photography career.
During these formative years in his late teens and twenties, Todd spent a year as a high school exchange student in Australia; attended three colleges; backpacked with his camera through Europe for three months; worked as a staff photographer on his hometown newspaper; experienced life's joys and tragedies and an unplanned event that nearly cost him his life when he was 25.
He documents his perseverance to walk again and pursue his photographic ambitions, which led him to South Florida, where he recounts his night photographing a National Championship college football game, graduating with honors and a degree in commercial photography from the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and landing a job as the studio manager for an elite commercial photographer.
Todd shares more than just camera settings, he shares his soul as he describes what was happening in his life during the time each photograph was created, what motivated him to take the picture, and, most importantly, the lessons he learned both at the time he pushed the shutter button for each image and now, reflecting on them decades after they were made.
Todd is on a quest to be the World's Greatest Photographer. It is a state of mind he has brought to every commercial assignment, every portrait, every wedding, practically every photograph he has ever taken.
Whether he is working on location somewhere in the world or taking pictures of sunsets from his front yard in Nebraska, he always wants to create the best possible picture he can.
"After all, that is what photography is all about: capturing that one fraction of a second that sums everything up into something tangible you can hold in your hand and look at forever - a photograph," he says. "I’m always striving to improve the picture I am taking, whether by changing my position or angle, lens or lights, how I interact with my subjects, the time of day or of time of year that I capture an image."
Todd fell in love with photography in Australia in 1988 and his love affair with the art and science of photography has never stopped growing.
“When I was a teenager, I was a Rotary Exchange Student and spent a year in Australia,” he says. “I fell in love, with the country, with the adventure I was on, with a girl, and, most importantly, with photography. I used my camera as my diary, taking pictures of people and places I thought I might never see again.
“During my early 20’s, when I began experiencing the pain that comes with growing up, I used my camera and my darkroom to escape and hide from the world.
“As I grew and matured, both in my skill and in my self-confidence, I used the power of photography to capture and share the world I was experiencing and discovering.
“Now I consciously and deliberately use the magic of photography to contribute to, connect with, inspire and love people all over the world. Every day I aspire to positively impact someone on the planet, now and always, with my love of photography!
“It doesn’t matter the camera or the platform, I’ve used them all and I’ve loved them all. From my first 35 mm point and shoot that I took with me Down Under, to disc cameras and 110 cameras in the 1980’s, along with polaroids, disposable cameras, my first 35mm SLR, a Canon AE1, followed by a Pentax K-1000, then onto medium format Hasselblad and Mamiya’s that used 120 roll film, 12 exposures per roll.
“At the Art Institute I used large format view cameras with 4 x 5 inch negatives - those were sweet cameras! Then I made the switch to digital around the turn of the century. Those gave way to mirrorless cameras and most recently, iPhones.
“The camera doesn’t matter. Just put one in my hands and I’ll start taking pictures. It’s what I do. It’s what I love. It is my number one passion. It is who I am. Striving to be the World's Greatest Photographer every day!"
PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!
The Story Behind the Photo – Volume 1
Available July 10, 2024