End of an Era: The Cathode Ray Tube

Every still life light painting of vintage electronics tells a story, and End of an Era may be my most nostalgic. This fine art photograph celebrates obsolete technology and the craftsmanship that once defined it—a personal reflection on the world that first sparked my fascination with light, form, and precision. The piece takes me back to 1975, when I was a young electronics technician learning the trade. Televisions then glowed with vacuum tubes and cathode ray tubes, humming softly in living rooms. A Simpson analog multimeter and a trusted Weller soldering iron were essential tools. Repairing a television wasn’t just technical work—it required patience, steady hands, and the ability to trace a faint signal through a dense web of components. Today, that hands-on skill has largely vanished, replaced by compact circuits and disposable technology. The CRT featured in End of an Era came from a rear-projection television that once anchored our family room. When it was time to discard it, I disassembled it piece by piece, uncovering the elegant design inside—three small tubes, each dedicated to red, green, and blue. What might have been junk revealed itself as history. That discovery became the foundation for this still life. Created in complete darkness, the photograph was light-painted by hand, illuminating each surface layer by layer. Every highlight is intentional, every shadow carefully shaped—mirroring the methodical approach I once used in electronics troubleshooting. End of an Era is both farewell and tribute, connecting my early life as an electrical engineer with my present work as a fine art photographer. These objects are not relics; they are illuminated monuments to curiosity, craftsmanship, and memory.