Fred Petermann

Fred Petermann started out with a Bachelor of fine art degree and became vice president of a major advertising agency in NY as well as a still photographer. When he began directing TV commercials he also was his own cinema photographer, which was very unusual at the time. Petermann directed many award wining commercial such as Coke, Pepsi, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, American Express, Visa, Wells Fargo, GE, Budweiser, AT&T, Bank of America, Toyota, Honda, Exxon, GM, Gatorade and more. (There is still a commerical Petermann directed for Budweiser—Very Christmas—has run for the last 25 years.)  Petermann was considered one of the top 10 TV commercial directors in the USA. He won two international awards for Best Cinema Photographer and owned one of the top TV production companies in the country—Petermann/Dektor.

At the top pf his game, Petermann retired early and moved to the Eastern Shore to raise his son. After his son went away to college he rediscovered his passion for still photography.

I want to keep my work simple and pure.

I believe in the old masters such as Alfred Stieglitz, who kept most of his images simple. That is my goal in my work, to focus on the object and appreciate the simplicity and power of the image. To make the viewer think, is this a photograph, fine pencil drawing, or a detailed charcoal?

I am not trying to fool the viewer but to make a statement of simplicity, to let the viewer enjoy the image. Negative and positive space is very important in my work, and I want to let the viewer enjoy them both.