Background

Ted Rhodes—Writer & Photographer

Born and raised in Pasadena, California. A graduate of The Thacher School and Dartmouth College, I spent five years in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the late sixties/early seventies, beginning with a one-year stint as a VISTA worker in the War on Poverty. Co-founded the underground newspaper, The Fort Wayne Free Press, a community based paper devoted to peace, civil rights and other social justice related issues. Served as its editor for three years. Left the newspaper paper to study film at the Gray Film Atelier in Hoosick Falls, New York. Returned to Indiana to work briefly as a still photographer and 16 mm. filmmaker for several years.
Worked for 22 plus years, based out of Hollywood, as a motion picture technician. I was Key Grip (head of the grip dept.) on such productions as Back to School, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Dennis the Menace, Baby’s Day Out, George of the Jungle, Beetlejuice and The Muse as well as on more rock videos, commercials, and industrial films than I now care to admit to.
In 1979, shortly after President Carter lifted US sanctions on the People’s Republic of China, I traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou with Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows and a number of other industry luminaries as a part of an official film delegation from New York and Hollywood. An article I wrote about that trip, as well as my photographs, appeared as the cover piece for Filmmakers Newsletter, a once national magazine devoted to independent film production.
In 1985, moving up the coast to Carpinteria, I helped spearhead the successful grassroots community effort to save the Carpinteria Bluffs from development (with the help of some 3000 other individuals, private foundations and public agencies). Returning, part-time, to writing and photography, I created many still images of the Carpinteria Bluffs in addition to a number of op ed pieces on the subject. One of my Bluffs images is featured as a poster, Country Road at the Bluffs, as part of a fundraising poster project that, since 1990, has also included well-known Santa Barbara area plein air artists Arturo Tello and Meredith Brooks Abbott.
In recent years, I have been active with the Santa Barbara Middle School as a parent, Trustee, and past Board President involved with their fundraising, Site Campaign, theatre and outdoor programs. I am a co-director of SBMS’s Songfest, the annual afternoon of student musical performances and teach an occasional theatre elective on stagecraft. I have shot several thousand photo images for the school.
In 2005, I began work for the Santa Barbara Blues Society as one of its two official photographers.
I am a past President of Friends of VADA, the nonprofit organization with the mission of supporting the school-within-a-school Visual Arts & Design Academy at Santa Barbara High School.
In 2009 & 2010, I spearheaded the successful grassroots political campaign to defeat Venoco's Measure J, an oil & gas development initiative Venoco placed on our local ballot. In fact, this so-called "people's initiative" was funded solely by Venoco and was a blatant attempt by the oil company to exempt itself and its proposed 14-story high Paredon Project from all further local city review and oversight. Venoco outspent us approximately 10:1, but voters successfully defeated the measure by a vote of 70% to 30%. Former Carpinteria Mayor Donna Jordan was the co-chair of this effort.
I currently work, part-time, with local nonprofit organizations as a fundraising consultant and grassroots strategist in addition to my work as a still photographer. I also teach harmonica and am presently playing "harp" and percussion in a Latin Funk band, Toka.
My still images have appeared locally in a number of publications including Carpinteria Magazine, Montecito Journal, and Santa Barbara Magazine as well as nationally in Architectural Digest, Raw Vision, Elle Décor, Coastal Traveler, The Magazine Antiques, Maine Antique Digest, California Homes, Phoenix Home & Garden, Big City Blues Magazine, the now-defunct Filmmakers Newsletter and The New York Times.