Photographer Ferenc Gyulaifa - born in Budapest, Hungary 1947, leaving there with his family during the Hungarian uprising in 1956 to immigrate to the United States after several years in a refugee camp in Austria. He then worked for Hallmark cards as an engraver for thirteen years. While at Hallmark, Ferenc was president of the photography club and shot portraits, weddings, as well as candid moments of children, friends and family. Ference moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1979, then to Denver where he continues to be the sole proprietor of Creative Die Making and Magical Reflections Art Photography. He taught martial arts (judo and Aikido) for over 35 years, was an avid cyclist and still teaches aerobic cycling at various athletic clubs and YMCA's in the Denver Metro area. He is married to painter Leslie Aguillard of Artemis Arts.

"Art needs to engage me. Art asks us to stop and reflect and itself reflects life and vision to us. More than merely passing judgment whether we like it or not, it presents an opportunity to expand our horizons and to converse with something deeper inside."  

The Photographs by Ferenc Gyulafia -- Ferenc sees the intrinsic beauty in the common place, creating art from the transient play of reflections, light, glass, and the drama of place in juxtaposition. He reminds us to slow down and notice the fleeting moment, to be mindful of the "now" as we are so often advised. Like painting, his photographs capture a moment in time. An urban commute then becomes an artistic adventure, stopping to smell the flowers becomes an abstraction and we are part of the contemporary cityscape as we pass through it.

The mask is painted blue and then carved through the paint to create the design. Ferenc was a master engraver for Hallmark and in his own business, Creative Die Making. Although refined, he still carves lead crystal and wood as well as his other forms of art expression.