STRASBURG — Whether he’s wandering the majestic mountains of local national parks or traveling abroad, George Hoffman never leaves home without his camera.
Known for his vivid landscapes as well as macro-detailed shots of bumblebees dancing on flower petals, Hoffman uses his lens to reveal details about locations and objects that others might overlook.
“I’m an artist,” Hoffman said. “In the sense of two-dimensional stuff. I like to draw, to paint. I’ve made jewelry. But photography — for me, at least at this point in my life — it’s what I enjoy most of all.”
Hoffman, who also likes to sing, garden and sew, frequently seeks new creative outlets to fill his time after his recent retirement. He also gives back to his local arts community. With a simple point a click camera, Hoffman — who prefers something light and easy to work with — never misses an opportunity to stop for a photo.
“I need to create,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Nature is Hoffman’s biggest inspiration. As the sun wakes up Strasburg, he is often already outside capturing the sunrise and its soft hues of pinks, oranges and blues. When the moon is at its fullest, he patiently waits for clouds to pass to capture the Man in the Moon. When he sees a fawn impatiently waiting on its mother, he snaps the special moment. If he sees a flower he’s unfamiliar with, he’ll note its location and capture its essence.
“I’m also interested in plants and their biology,” he explained. “I like to photograph plants — I do a lot of flowers. We’ve gotten lucky here recently, as I’ve noticed more mushrooms on our walks.”
Hoffman also photographs wildlife, including the occasional animal he might see walking along the river banks or the bird in the front yard. But his Facebook feed, where he shares his most recent images, isn’t all animals and foliage. Occasionally Hoffman, who likes to cook, will share an image he captured of his dinner, reminiscing on the good-old days — when social media was used for just that. He also shares intimate details, behind the lens of his own life including the most recent addition to the family, his grandson.
“Digital cameras just opened up the world to a creative person. You can take pictures of something from 27 different angles and throw 26 of them away if you want.”
Hoffman said today’s technology is far advanced from the beginning of his photography journey, which started with a 35-millimeter camera.
“There’s hardly any comparison,” he said with a chuckle. “Those old pictures were just so rudimentary.”
“I didn’t have access to the development stuff,” he said. “And I didn’t have the money to pay for it. So I happened to find a place that would develop my photographs the best and I would say a prayer and hope they did okay.”
Hoffman said he enjoys looking back on his old work and seeing not only how he’s grown as a photographer but the changes in technology. Just in the past 20 years, the photography industry has witnessed major developments in camera technology.
Sharing a recent cell phone photo he took, Hoffman confessed it doesn’t get much better than that. Using a photo editor on his phone, he sometimes retouches minor details and may increase the saturation, but typically he just places his name on the photo to prevent theft and then shares it on social media for his fans and followers.
As part of a local Facebook photography group, Hoffman shares his inspiration and helps those seeking to better their own images with friendly critiques and words of wisdom. The group has over 100 members with roughly 30 photographers participate on a weekly basis, which keeps the momentum going for all, he said. Each week the group is given a theme — such as dinner — and then they capture their story and discuss it at a later date.
Hoffman has enjoyed various jobs before retirement, including teaching photography at Shenandoah University, and has fond memories of his students. At SU, he taught students how to compose photographs and how to apply their knowledge to creating their own two-dimensional artwork.
“We used some of the tried-and true-things that would guide them in taking good photographs and then they would go out for two weeks, take their own photographs and turn them into me. Their favorite ones. We would come together as a class and do critiques and discuss why they were good or not.”
He also participated in the college’s Global Experiential Learning trip and visited orphans in Ethiopia with students, which he said was an eye-opening experience. He returned home with a series of portraits he still talks about to this day.
“They still, when I look at them, they just grab me.”
Sitting in his basement are many of his 35 mm images — developed and framed along with his more recent works — including the faces of the Ethiopian children.
Hoffman hopes to take more international trips with his wife, seeing what the world holds for his camera. His wife, who he said complements him well, sometimes takes in the beauty around her with her own camera. Hoffman said the couple then sit down and see what the other saw.
“Honestly, it all started with just recording memories,” he said. “Now I have that combination of recording memories and the feeling of creating a nice or cool picture at the same time. You know, when I was younger, I didn’t really pay attention to the aesthetics of it. But over the years that’s been equally as important to me to create that sense of nostalgia.”
