Robert Herman was born in Brooklyn, NY, and grew up on Long Island. At the age of twelve, he began working as an usher in the chain of movie theaters owned by his parents. Exposure to such a wide range of films during his formative years provided him with a unique vision: ?Working for my father allowed me to view the same movie repeatedly,? he recalls, ?until the story line began to recede and the images became independent of the narrative."
Several years later, as a student at New York University Film School, Herman began crafting this vision by creating experimental narrative and documentary films. At this time he also started to include the study of still photography in his repertoire by cataloguing New York street life with his camera.
As a production still photographer on independent feature films, Herman discovered the life at the periphery of film locations, which he found even more compelling than the actual film sets. In Herman?s bold use of light and composition, he effectively transforms everyday subject matter into vibrant, emotion-filled images.
Herman?s photographs have been exhibited throughout the United States. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Telfair Museum in Savannah, GA, the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY, as well as in many private collections.
