Bob Soltys’ love of photography began in 1967 when he read the Eye of Eisenstaedt. Shortly after that, his aunts gave him a Kodak Instamatic camera for Christmas. In 1971, he brought his camera along when his fellow high school students walked out to protest a teachers’ strike that would have prevented seniors from graduating on time. The weekly paper bought his pictures, launching a lifetime capturing people and events on film. His fine art prints have been exhibited in England and across the United States.
Bob served as a Navy officer from 1989 to 1994. His photos have raised money for The Friends of Anton auction, Secours Populaire Français, Jack Russell Rescue, and other charities.
Statement:
Parisians have truly mastered the art of living. Their love for life and the way they live it to the fullest call me to return again and again to make images of the Paris that the tourist does not see. My Paris photos seek to inspire understanding of another culture, make people laugh, and find the art in everyday life. It’s my way of giving back to the city that changed my photography and my life.
Recently, the longer nights of fall and winter allowed me to indulge my love of the way black and white film portrays night scenes, inspired by the 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still..
To thank the city that I love and the people who welcomed my camera and me, I donate my share of the sales of my Paris fine art images to French charities including Secours Populaire Français and the fund to restore Cathedral Notre Dame.
Take a one-minute break walking thru an exhibit of my Paris images.
« Être parisian ce n’est pas être né a Paris, c’est y renaître. » “To be Parisian is not to be born in Paris, it is to be reborn there.”
“There are always flowers for those who wish to see them.” – Henri Matisse“Paris is so very beautiful that it satisfies something in you that is always hungry in America.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Opt for privacy and solitude. That doesn’t make you antisocial or cause you to reject the rest of the world. But you need to breathe, and you need to be.” – Albert Camus
