Richard Dorbin, President/Photographer

Born and raised in the mountains of New Mexico, Richard takes the credit (or the blame) for the images on this site. His visual roots date back to his photo journalist/poet father, Jerry Dorbin. It may have been a stroke of luck or a fateful blessing that Jerry gave Richard his first camera (a twin lens reflex) at the age of four. He still credits growing up in Santa Fe as a reason for being visually eclectic and multi-stylistic.

After working as on the yearbook and school paper staff in high school, Richard received his formal training at the widely respected Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, MA.

"That was the launching point for me," he says. "When the passion for photography as a way of expressing myself as well as the way in which I could earn a living sprang to life, and I began to establish a respectable resume.”

At this point the work of other photographers began to influence Richard's work. The work of Paul Strand, Minor White, Paul Turnbul, George Tice, Ansel Adams, the Weston family, and Elliot Porter have had a moving and continuing impact on his personal and professional work.

Richard's other interests include folk music, playing the guitar, running, and cooking.

To contact Richard Dorbin by E-mail: dorbin@paragonlight.com

Ann Dorbin, V.P. / Business Manager

Besides managing our office, Ann is the creative consultant and spearhead to our promotional campaigns. A freelance writer, Ann brings a lifetime of experience to bear when ideas and execution are needed. Her common sense approach to getting ideas across, combined with her sense of humor make for successful enterprise, whatever she puts her mind to. She has a special interest in writing about people's lifework and stories placed in Maryland or on the Eastern Shore.

In our book, titled SAVING THE BAY: People Restoring the Future of the Chesapeake (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), Ann had the idea to create a series of essays, including photographs, showing the positive side of Bay ecology through the lives of individuals working to protect our nation's largest estuary. Each person involved in "Saving the Bay" has a story to tell, and Ann discovered and wrote those stories, one person at a time.

Ann's gift for writing is partly rooted in her interest in children's literature. She has taken some of her life's more memorable moments and turned them into children's stories. She also writes poetry and served as co-editor and contributor to a women's anthology titled Single Women ~ Alive & Well! (1st Books, 2001). http://www.thewritehelp.net

Ann's interests also include contemporary folk music, swimming, gardening, and spending time with our four children.

To contact Ann Dorbin by E-mail: dorbin@paragonlight.com