Tom Mangan : Landscape Photographer

About Tom Mangan

I currently reside in Erie, Colorado just outside of Boulder where I have lived since 1998. I grew up in New York State, about 40 miles north of New York City in Northern Westchester County. Although Colorado is now my home, I still enjoy photographing and spending time in New York and on the East Coast.

Residing in Colorado allows me access to some of the most beautiful places in the west all within relativley short distances. I have been fascinated with Colorado and the West for as long as I can remember. The towering peaks of the Rockies, the smell of an aspen grove in the Fall, a mirror reflection in a high tarn or sunset on the high plains. It's hard not to love all Colorado and the West has to offer. You may find me out on a trail hiking with my wife Holly and our Border Collie, Jackson.

About Tom's Camera Equipment

I currently use a mix of film and digital camera equipment to help acheive the results I desire. Regardless of the camera equipment I am using, my most important piece of equipment is probably my alarm clock. I find that waking up very early and staying out very late often produces the most satisfying results, which in most cases is more than any one piece of equipment can provide. With the standard equipment disclaimer now out of the way I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy using various pieces of equipment.

For most of my photography, I still prefer to use a 4x5 large format camera and film. I have been using a Toyo 4x5 AX Metal Field camera with a handful of lenses for the better part of the last decade. Besides shooting with a 4x5 Large Format system I also enjoy using a 6x17 cm Panoramic back or a 6x17 cm V-Pan Monorail camera. My large format kit consists of lenses in the 75mm,110mm,150mm,240mm, and 360mm range. I use lenses from all four of the current modern manufacturers (Rodenstock,Schneider,Nikon and Fujinon). When using the 4x5 or 6x17cm large format system I typically use film from Fuji. My choice of emulsions may vary depending on the subject and I often shoot with Fuji Velvia, Provia or Astia.

When I am shooting moving subjects like railroads or wildlife or I simply want to lighten my load, I use a 35mm Digital Canon Eos setup. Currently my camera of choice is a Canon 5D Mark II with lenses ranging from 17mm to 300mm.

About Tom's Fine Art Prints

I strive to produce stunning high quality prints with my photography. The process to produce Fine Art Prints often begins prior to the camera's shutter ever being fired or a 2:00 AM drive to a lonely trailhead. Producing Fine Art Prints requires many steps to acheive the final goal of representing my vision and experiences on paper. After photographing the subject, the film is processed, inspected and if up to par, sent out for a high quality drum scan. The high quality drum scan allows me to bring the image into Photoshop where it is adjusted and cleaned to closely match the original piece of film as well as my vision. After the drum scan is complete, it is sent off to be printed on a Chromira of Lightjet printer. This process allows me to print beautiful detailed prints as large as 40x50 inches or as wide as 90 inches with little loss of detail.