Mel Adelglass was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, USA. He developed an early fascination with photography by observing his Uncle Persh take snap shots and his father shoot 16 mm film during family vacations. In 1951, at age ten, Mel saved up $3 to purchase his first camera at a local drugstore, a Baby Brownie. Not long after, his father gave Mel $40 (a lot of money at the time) to buy a Kodak Twin Lens Reflex camera. Mel took pictures of his friends, the neighborhood and the animals at the Bronx Zoo. By the time he turned twelve, to the dismay of his mother, Mel was developing his pictures in the bathroom sink!

As a teenager Mel read all the camera magazines, camera annuals and Life Magazines. He read Bernice Abbott's book avidly and studied the images of photographers Atget and Walker Evans. Mel continues to look at their pictures with the same intense pleasure and admiration today.

Mel divides his time between New York City and Vermont, and spends a great deal of time traveling in New England where he finds his subjects. His primary interest is in preserving the disappearing architecture of America. Old houses, buildings and storefronts that show the ravages of age fascinate him and stir memories of his own. His compositions often fall into place naturally, but to capture the right light, Mel may return at a later date to shoot the image. It's often said that old houses evoke the people who lived in them, however Mel's focus is on the buildings themselves. This set of photographs was selected from a series of photographs taken over a period of 40 years. Mel's camera of choice is the Deardorff view camera with 4x5 negative film.

Collections

Union Square Gallery Ernst Haas Viewing Room, New York, USA

Bernard van Liemt and Alexa Gratama, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Todd and Isabelle Jud Weinstein, New York, USA

Eddy Contento, New York, USA

Gail Buxton, New York, USA

Leslie Buxton, New York, USA

Marion Greenwood, New York, USA

Barry and Marjolein Brouwer Kornbluh, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Phil and Eileen Kornbluh, New Jersey, USA

Greg Masters, New York, USA

Barry and Cheryl Lakritz, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Lee and Elaine Weinstein, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Mitch and Sue Tokowitz, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Spencer Davison, New York, USA

Henry and Jeannie Jedda, New York, USA

Exhibitions

1980’s Union Square Gallery, New York City, New York

2000 Detroit Focus 2000 international, Detroit, Michigan

Film about Mel Adelglass

“Views Along The Road”
Photographs by Mel Adelglass
Producer and Director: Todd Weinstein

Teaching

1971-1988 New York Institute of Technology

Lectures

“Dreaming with Open Eyes” photo workshop by Todd Weinstein
Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule, Berlin, Germany

Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie, Berlin, Germany

Publisher

McGraw Hill, USA

Magazines

Newsweek, USA

Americana, USA

American Heritage, USA

Forbes, USA

Telviser, Netherlands

photographing artwork for Art galleries

Terry Dintinfass, New York, USA

Lori Lauretsky, New York, USA