Jerry Interval, (October 10, 1923 – December 4, 2006), was an American

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

and educator.

The early years

Jerry Interval was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

and grew up in the Brookline neighborhood of the city. When he was 17, he moved to

Dunkirk, New York Dunkirk is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Dunkirk i ...

to attend Holy Cross Seminary, an all-male

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

boarding school that closed in 1968. While there, he studied to be a

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

for a short time and graduated with a degree in psychology before returning to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. In 1948, at the age of 25, he married Dora. The Intervals lived in

McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania McKees Rocks, also known as "The Rocks", is a borough in Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania, along the south bank of the Ohio River. The population was 5,920 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. In ...

and

Bellevue, Pennsylvania Bellevue is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Ohio River, adjoining Pittsburgh. The population was 8,311 at the 2020 census. The borough was incorporated in 1867. There is a public park and library, the A ...

, before moving to the suburb of

Franklin Park, Pennsylvania Franklin Park is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,470 at the 2010 census. Geography Franklin Park is located at (40.590459, -80.092046). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough ...

, where they lived for almost 43 years. They had seven children.

Photography career

Interval was heavily Influenced by

Yousuf Karsh Yousuf Karsh, FRPS (December 23, 1908 – July 13, 2002) was a Canadian-Armenian photographer known for his portraits of notable individuals. He has been described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. An Armenian ...

, Alfred Stieglitz,

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with tr ...

etc. in his teenage years and pursued

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

as a hobby for several years before turning professional in 1968. In 1972, he earned the degree of master of photography from the

Professional Photographers of America Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is a nonprofit trade association of professional photographers. As of August 2022, PPA has 34,000 members. History 19th century The association began in December 1868 as the National Photographic Ass ...

(PPA). His work is documented in ''The Psychological Approach to Photographic Design,'' his associate thesis for the ASP, and in a self-published booklet described what he called ''crash-point symmetry'', a compositional technique still widely used by professional photographers. Several examples of Interval's work—including some of his noted Merry Monks portraits—are housed at the Photo Antiquities Museum of Photographic History in Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

etc. A member of

and Photographic Society of America (PSA), Interval lectured at photography conferences and was an instructor for the Winona International School of Professional Photography for about 20 years.

Death

He died on December 4, 2006, at the age of 83 due to complications from heart problems in the Pittsburgh suburb of

Moon Township, Pennsylvania Moon Township is a township along the Ohio River in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Moon is a part of the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area and is located northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 27,261 at the 2020 census. History ...

."Award-winning portrait, wedding photographer," ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', December 7, 2006, p. D6

References

External links

Official Jerry Interval website

Award-winning portrait, wedding photographer
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Obituary
Professional Photographers of America (PPA)

American Society of Photographers (ASP)

Triangle Photographers Association (TPA)

Photographic Society of America (PSA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interval, Jerry 1923 births 2006 deaths Artists from Pittsburgh 20th-century American photographers American portrait photographers Wedding photographers People from Dunkirk, New York Catholics from New York (state)