Now that she’s somewhat grown up, she does both.
Dale double majored in Russian Literature and Studio Art at Smith College, focusing all of her studio art energy into photography. She decided to continue her studies and attend graduate school at Pratt Institute. While there, studying under Phil Perkis, Dale worked as an assistant and printer for photographer Elaine Mayes. She also worked in the Brooklyn Museum’s photo studio, assisting with the photographing of the Museum’s various collections. This proved to be an invaluable job when it came to learning about the challenges of studio lighting.
In 1997, she was awarded a Fulbright Travel Grant and a Miguel Vinciguerra Grant to travel to Sicily and photograph rural life there. Soon after her return, she began working as an independent contractor at Exhibition Prints, Inc., a high end photo lab dedicated to fine art and commercial photography. Owned by renowned photographer Joel Sternfeld, EPI attracted fine art and commercial clients such as Joel Meyerowicz, Annie Leibovitz, and Regan Cameron, among many others. Dale worked at EPI until it closed its doors in 2007, even returning every few months to work after she relocated to the West Coast.
Back in her grad school days, Dale had also started working with some of the bands she knew, doing live and promotional photography. That segued into years of steady freelance work for record labels, as well as music and tattoo magazines, where she became reacquainted with her childhood love and began to write articles in addition to shoot.
Much of the magazine work that Dale did required travel, both within the U.S. and abroad, and she quickly discovered that travel was her third love.
Dale has also been hired by prestigious overseas companies to do fashion photography, has produced head shots for L.A. law firm Willenken, Loh & Stris, and has used lessons learned at the Brooklyn Museum to do product photography. Her versatility and photographic expertise allow her to take on a wide variety of freelance work.
Since 2006, much of Dale’s photography and writing skills have been funneled into the two magazines she co-founded, Blood & Thunder Magazine and Shimmy Magazine, where she has played the roles of writer, photographer, Editor-in-Chief, copy editor, and photo editor. Her immersion on the world of burlesque led to her teaching pin-up photography classes at events around the country, in New York City through the New York School of Burlesque, and at her own studio, Studio Noir.
When living in Seattle in 2008, Dale got involved with the Photographic Center Northwest, first as a darkroom monitor and then as an instructor. Upon returning to New York City, she got involved with the International Center of Photography, serving as a teaching assistant both at their community programs and at the mid-town location. Now that she resides in Philadelphia, she has become involved with several local photo centers, including the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center and Project Basho, and continues her relationship with ICP.
As if all that pesky work wasn’t enough, Dale has always had at least one fine art project in the hopper. Much like her commercial work, Dale’s fine art photography spans a variety of styles; from landscape to portraiture to documentary, both color and B&W. She has found that her skills allow her to work in whatever style or medium best suits a particular project. Her work has been shown in galleries throughout the U.S. and abroad.
With the recent selling of her share in the magazines, Dale is shifting her focus back onto her own photography; both fine art and commercial. She is looking for opportunities to rebuild her freelance client base and incorporate her three loves - photography, writing, and traveling - into the work that she does. She is also actively looking for teaching jobs and is very excited about some of the courses that she has designed.
Dale has recently embarked upon a fine art project that focuses on man’s impact on the land, as she seeks to continue where “Forgotten 66” left off and create work with more of an educational or “social commentary” aspect to it. Look for updates on that project as it progresses, and, in the meantime, all work on this site is available for exhibition.
Click here for Dale’s professional resume
Click here for Dale’s fine art resume