Background on Carlos Heiligmann
Griswold Memorial Library, Colrain, Mass.
Growing up in Mexico City, Carlos Heiligmann spent his free time exploring the Mexican capital by bicycle and taking photographs wherever he went, using a simple Kodak Holiday Brownie camera and Kodak 127 black and white film to capture images as far out as the Central Airport. As he got older and migrated to the United States, he carried his interest in photography with him, remaining active during his service in the U.S. Air Force, through college, and into his career as an industrial engineer.
Heiligmann writes that he views photography primarily as a practical tool for recording and preserving images of the world around him, rather than an instrument for experimentation or creative artistry. This documentary approach is exemplified by the thousands of images he has taken over the years of important structures, ranging from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, and La Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Boston's Trinity Church. More recently, he has re-focused his attention on Western Massachusetts, where he photographs the facades and interiors of the region's public libraries.
Always traveling with a camera, Heiligmann takes photographs throughout the year, although he writes that he prefers the warmer months when he can travel in his 1947 DeSoto, the car he brought to the U.S. from Mexico decades ago.
