Former Glory

Born and raised in NJ, Jeanne C. Hildenbrand first discovered her love for photography through the lens of a small plastic camera, courtesy of Bazooka Joe and his Bubble Gum comics she’d saved. She worked her way through the various instamatic cameras of the mid 1970s and then before making their first trip to Alaska in 1979 she and her husband bought their first 35mm SLR and gave themselves a crash course in how to use it. They eventually settled in the Hudson Valley and she has been photographing their adventures and travels ever since. In 2005 Hildenbrand started experimenting with digital photography and in the years that followed she went back to college in order to build a more formal education in both digital photography and black and white film developing. While taking this more concentrated approach to her photography she found her view of the world changing and opening up, bringing her down a road towards her photographic vision. The play of old/new, light/dark, nature/man has always been an emotional driving force behind Hildenbrand’s work. In her latest project, “Sharon Springs: A Town Left Behind” she’s managed to capture that captivating struggle and emotion, as some see beauty and smile, while others cry and wonder why.

“Sharon Springs is a small town that has had a roller coaster ride over the past two hundred years, and now as you walk the streets you can see and feel the effect the ride has had. I am overwhelmed with a desire to uncover the stories that linger behind it’s windows and doors. With my images I hope to express what I feel as I walk through this historic town.”–artist Jeanne Hildenbrand