Charles Kuralt, upon visiting the photography studio of Ron Anton Rocz in the spring of 1995 and noticing his photographs from Budapest and Moscow and other distant locations, kindly remarked, "My, but aren't you an international fellow." Ron felt honored
by Kuralt's appreciation, but responded that he had explored photographically only a small portion of foreign locales in contrast to Kuralt's career, and his primary base was Charleston and his photography of this historic city.
True, Ron Rocz has created a substantial body of art and travel photography from his ventures abroad: Hungary, Budapest and nearby Eastern European countries, in conjunction with exploring his own Hungarian ancestry; Moscow, during the time of
Yeltsin's conflict with the Russian Parliament; Iceland and Bermuda, in conjunction
with overseas graduate-level teaching assignments with Webster University. And the
prize-winning photography from these travels has been exhibited and sold in major art festivals all across the United States and the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, DC.
But his photographic career began in Charleston, SC, in the early 1980's, starting as
an avocation and following upon a professional social work career in anti-poverty programs, mental health and human resource development.. In that time, apart from the
national art festivals, his accomplishments in Charleston have been numerous.
For ten years, he worked on and then had published (USC Press and the Preservation Society of Charleston) a photography book "The Churches of Charleston and the Low-
Country," telling the story of Charleston's contribution to the development of religious
tolerance and freedom in American culture. Poster images have been used by the Historic Charleston Foundation, the Preservation Society of Charleston, the Cooper River Bridge
Run and his own art poster publishing. Many images have been used by, among others,
National Geographic Guides, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Prince of
Wales Prince Charles, Charleston Place Orient Express Hotel, Kiawah Island, and the
Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce. Wall hangings and decor of Ron's pieces are
numerous in Charleston's government, medical and commercial settings, while other images have appeared regularily in calendars, post cards, brochures, and varied adver-
tisements.
Nationally and internationally, Ron's images are represented by Index Stock Imagery
in New York, have been used by United Airline's in-flight magazine, decorate US offices
of Malev Hungarian Airlines, and are used as room wall hangings for the US Navy's hotel
chain "Navy Lodge" in 25 cities nationally and abroad.
Stylistically, Ron prefers strong color, careful composition and balance, simplicity of
design, with a close-up approach to the subject matter, capturing only what is essential
to tell the story. Often it is commented that he seems to "paint" with the camera and film.
Ron has an artist son, Daniel, living and painting in Maui, Hawaii. His daughter,
Rebecca, is a talented software designer in Seattle, WA and is the creator of this web site.