The Man Behind The Camera
- Rudolph W. Tauskey

(Part II)
by Kerrin Winter

6 Sparrowbush Road

According to his grandchildren, Rudolph W. Tauskey was a shrewd man of modest means. Within his family, he is fondly remembered as "frugally responsible". He didn't trust banks so instead kept his cash in a downstairs freezer. Wrapped in white butcher paper with the words, "stew meat" written in black ink, the cash kept company with a side of beef. This became known in the Tauskey home as "Boppi's cold cash".

Ask anyone who worked with Rudy about a shoot with him and they will begin by telling you of 6 Sparrowbush Road. The beautiful Tudor estate that served as the location for the majority of Tauskey's portraits was rumored to have been taken off the hands of a formerly well-to-do family, who lost everything in the "Crash of -29". No doubt, that "cold cash" was a God-send at a time when other's fortunes were tied up in banks. The facts are lost to time, but it's true that Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, was a neighborhood of gracious living and not the typical suburb one would think of for a man who supported his family by photographing dogs. Yet, the Tauskey's fit comfortably into this society. The home was set on approximately three acres and the grounds were maintained by Rudy's lifelong friend, Herbert. Tauskey directed everything and everyone and the landscaping of his estate was no exception. Herbert was a knowledgeable horticulturist, if not by trade and kept plants blooming for his friend three seasons of the year. Dogwood, rhododendron and English Ivy enhanced the stone walls and walkways. The house was set back from the road and complemented by a magnificently ornate iron gate that graced many Tauskey portraits.

6 Sparrowbush Road reflected Rudy's classical sense as an aesthete and included nineteenth century sporting art, mahogany furniture of the late Victorian period and beautifully understated oriental rugs, all rumored to have been purchased at the mercy of another victim of the "crash".

These pieces were intermingled with colorful twentieth century Nouveau flourishes and other objects' d'art that were collected over the years.

In people, Rudy valued educated and refined men and women who were well versed in history, the arts and the sporting life. One could say, regardless of the species, "Tauskey appreciated good breeding". Some of his best known clients through the years were Mrs. Dodge of the famed Giralda Kennels, early Poodle pioneer, Mrs. Sherman Hoyt, famous Scottish Terrier fanciers, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stalter and Mrs. Blanche Reeg and Julia Gasow of Salilyn English Springer Spaniels.

Throughout Rudy's professional lifetime, the dogs that his family owned were all gifts from satisfied customers. Tauskey's clients truly adored him and liked to show their gratitude through such kindnesses as giving his children and grandchildren dogs, providing them with days afield and also, when the boys were older, allowing them the opportunity to ride horses whenever they chose. For these sons and grandsons, a childhood in Upper Saddle River was a magical experience.

The Lucky Ones

Everyone who still remembers working with Rudy Tauskey tells of the event that shooting with him would become. His business was obtained largely through the kennel managers and the very successful handlers that comprised the A-list' of show dogs. If a handler could supply a large number of dogs for Tauskey to work with, then he would consider coming to their kennel. Harry Hartnett, Ed Sayers, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Rigden, and Tom Crowe were a few of those that Tauskey would travel for. Still, Tauskey preferred to work from his home and a few of the esteemed who brought dogs to Rudy were Herman Mellenthin, Leonard Brumby, Johnny Murphy, Dick Cooper, Richard Bauer, Wendell Sammet and Anne Rogers Clark.

Shooting With Rudy

Rudy didn't use strobes, preferring "God's light" and so a shooting day would begin well before sun-up. This meant that most handlers and dogs would come up the night before, as you didn't want to be late for Rudy. Behind the main house was a small cottage which is where - if they were invited - most of the handlers would sleep, although a few of his favorites would stay in a guest room in the main house. Many of them tell the tale of being awakened by Rudy's cane poking them in the ribs. This seems to have been his standard m.o. He would say, "it's time, get up, hurry before we lose the light". Even though the grounds were magnificent, Rudy preferred to work against the white walls of the garage or the blacktop of his driveway. The reason of course is that it was much easier to retouch a dog's coat and body against a solid color and texture. A few brave handlers would get into heated discussions with him in defense of their choice of location and although he was controlling on the set, Rudy did sometimes yield to another's opinion.

Rudolph W. Tauskey had an eye for balance and an intrinsic feel for "the look of eagles". When he worked with a dog, he knew before he went out on the shoot what kind of emotion he was going after. He was a taskmaster and often dictatorial about his shooting. One grandson recalls, "My grandfather was definitely in control of his shoots. He would order people around and bark out his commands. He was full of self confidence and had little patience for people who doubted his direction or were slow to respond."

Anyone else on the set - assistant groomers, kennel boys, gardeners, even his grandsons and wife, Ana, would be turned into "noise makers". In his European accent, Rudy would say, "stanz behins za trrree and meeOW like a cot!" In later years, because of his severe arthritis, Rudy walked with the aid of two canes. He used these canes as extensions of his hands and pointed at people, gave directions and generally waved them around to emphasize his commands. He was all business while shooting and everything he did, he did for the sake of his art. Some who saw the way he would talk to his wife, Ana, on the set, say that she was a saint. In reality, Ana knew Rudy better than anyone and understood not to take what he said to her personally.

The handlers that he worked with must be given great credit as the dogs were usually very well trained and would stack and stay in position without a handler stringing up the dog. If a dog's head wasn't high enough, the handler would be asked to go in and give a little "chuck" beneath the chin, but very little hands on was applied after the dog was in position. However, in the case of many stubborn hounds who would not hold up their tails, a string might be attached, this being the only thing held by the handler.

Later, the string, along with anything else that was distracting, would be painted out of the picture.

Some say it was because of his health but photographers know that he didn't shoot volumes on any set because he was waiting for the exact moment to release the shutter. In the war, Rudy had been given a citation as an expert marksman with a .45 and he was an excellent shot with a camera as well. Like a seasoned marksmen, he waited for the perfect moment. Sometimes he would have the shot right away and the shoot would be over. To this day, his confidence is unequaled.

The Feasts

No one who knew them can talk about Rudy and his Ana without mentioning the after-shoot celebrations that took place at the Tauskey home. Rudy was famous for his personal version of an Old Fashioned which he would secretly mix up in a large glass pitcher. The ingredients to the Tauskey Old Fashioned went with him to the grave but it knocked more than a few "for a loop" and was a relaxing elixir after a long, tense morning of shooting dogs. While Rudy held court for his guests, Ana would busy herself in the kitchen, putting the final touches on her famous Bavarian desserts.

Everyone interviewed for this story remembers Ana's baked goods. She was gifted with meringue pie crusts and peach and chocolate pies are noted favorites. But Ana could bake volumes, often with Rudy directing, and cherry strudels, chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread with thick creme frosting and black forest torte are just a few of the German delights that people remember. It's no wonder that after eating and drinking at 6 Sparrowbush Road, everyone gratefully took a long nap.

The Old "Box" Camera

Rudy began his career after the war in 1919 with his last known portrait being done in 1975. He had severe arthritis for most of his adult life but only shot with one camera throughout his professional career never switching to anything lighter than his thirteen pound, large format camera. The Graflex used by Tauskey was probably issued to him during the war. Most who knew him refer to it as an "old box camera" which is far from the truth as The Graflex was state of the art for it's time.

Graflex cameras were designed primarily for newspaper men who were always on the go. They had the unique ability to be used as a portable enlarger for making prints on the spot. Rudy's big, black Graflex shot 5"x7" film and had rubber bellows that separated the lens from the ground glass.

Over time, the bellows would dry out and crack, causing leaks of light to appear on the film. A practical man, he wouldn't pay anyone else to fix the holes in the bellows so he patched them himself with duct tape. This would work for a while but the bellows kept cracking and new holes appeared unexpectedly.

One grandson remembers a stormy darkroom incident when his grandfather had just completed developing film for an important client. Rudy picked the film up out of the wash, flipped on the light and exploded with rage. "He cursed in German and damned that old Graflex and its rubber bellows". The film was ruined by ghosted streaks of light that had leaked through the rotted rubber of the work-worn press camera. Rudy was furious. An entire day had been wasted and he would have to schedule a re-shoot. Later, when he was calm enough to speak, he told his grandson that "it's a poor workman who blames his tools". When the grandson gently suggested that his grandfather buy a new camera, Rudy said, "I don't need a new camera, I'll make the old one do" and with that, he pulled more duct tape off of a shelf and patched a few more holes. By the time that Rudy died, the bellows of the old Graflex were more silver than black and the camera was shabby with wear. It was held together with glue, screws and duct tape. Upon inheriting the old Graflex, the oldest grandson took it to a specialist and had it restored. To this day, the old press camera lives on in a Tauskey home.

Dark Room Magic

Rudy's darkroom was in the garage behind the house at 6 Sparrowbush Road. It was a small, unheated room with a sink, an enlarger and filled with chemicals. Rudy would spend hours working on one print, washing and re-washing with cold water, making sure that all of the developer was off of them so they wouldn't fade. To those who knew him well, the fact that his fingernails were permanently stained brown from the developer, wasn't a detraction. This brown patina just lent more to the character of this colorful man. In the winter months this developing work would greatly affect his arthritis. He would become so stiff that he could barely walk and his mood would be dark with pain. Yet he would continue, in the cold, until the printing work was done.

The Light Table

While many say that Rudy was a dark room magician, his real artistry began on the kitchen table over his light box. Once the negatives were developed, Rudy would take them to the light table and open up a drawer near the sink. It was there that he kept his retouch pencils, brushes and paints. It was also in that drawer that he kept copies of the breed standards and his private collection of negatives of what he considered to be "specimen dogs".

Rudy used these breed standards and specimen dog negatives to compare what "should be there" with what he had on film. Tediously, he would then draw and paint right on the negative until he reached what he considered to be perfection and then took the negative back to the darkroom for final prints.

He also could do this work on the proofs themselves and in the early years, there is little doubt that he learned a great deal from such esteemed clients as Harry Hartnett of Milson Kennels, Barbera Fallass of Andly Smooth Fox Terriers, Herman Mellenthin of "My Own" Cocker Spaniels and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stalter of Barbarry Knowle Scottish Terriers. These people were the noted breed experts that helped Rudy develop his natural eye for a dog. To these people, Rudy would send a grouping of several proofs, all of the same pose. Each proof, however, would have a different set of "suggested" improvements. On some, he would have deepened the chest, on another, he would have improved the topline or changed the angle of the shoulder lay-back and some were a combination of things. Along with these retouched "working copies" would be one straight print so they could compare the changes.

The breeders would then call Rudy to discuss the standard and the "improvements". In this way, Rudi tested a breeder's eye and knowledge while also gaining their respect for his own "eye for a dog". Later, when all would agree on the "perfection," he would take the negative to this pose, make final corrections to it on the light table and then create his final prints.

Later, as his reputation for excellence increased, Rudy no longer would yield to anyone. He would make whatever improvements he thought necessary, make the proofs, writing across them, "this is an excellent picture". Most people were very happy with their final proofs, but if they weren't, most would keep their mouths shut. If they voiced their displeasure, they risked hurting Rudy's feelings and risked also being crossed off the list of those who could obtain an audience with "The Master."

There has been considerable discussion regarding Rudy's ability to replace one dog's eyes, legs, ears, etc., for a better example of the breed. This leads one to the subjective conclusion that Rudy's "specimen file" was for that purpose. The only people that ever witnessed his darkroom work were his two eldest granddsons. Both were quite involved with their grandfather's artistry but neither remember ever seeing him swapping parts of one dog for another. It is certain however, that Rudy could have seamlessly blended negatives to create the perfect dog if he wanted to. He was an absolute master of negative and print retouching and had incredible prowess in the darkroom.

The Tale Piece

Rudy Tauskey had severe arthritis in his legs. For years, he suffered the kind of pain that would put most people in a wheel chair. That he continued to shoot, walking with the aid of two canes, is just more insight into the fortitude and drive that defined this great artist. When one studies the works of Tauskey, one can see how over the years, he improved his talents with a camera, getting better at choosing shooting angles, experimenting with backgrounds and of course, mastering the art of retouching. Rudy was a man constantly in search of perfection, even improving his signature, adding the flourish that became as recognizable as the prints themselves.

The last known Tauskey image appeared on the cover of Dog World's August, 1975 issue. The image is another one for the records, this time, of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the first American one of his kind to complete his AKC championship. Rudy quit shooting while he was still on top and went out introducing a new breed to the Fancy.

On July 30, 1979, God called His dog photographer home. Rudy was missed by magazine editors, family and cronies but no doubt, Heaven was glad to have him since we all know "that place" is filled with dog people and a lot of great dogs. Anyone who knew him or knew of him, can well imagine Rudy there, toasting the "Great Ones" and telling his tales. Rudy lives on in the hearts of all good dog photographers as a mentor and a figure of inspiration, but there will never be another one like him. Rudolph W. Tauskey, one of a kind, never to be duplicated.

Research

This article could not have been written with out the kind cooperation of many who had a Tauskey tale or two to tell. Thanks to Blackie and Howard Nygood, Richard Bauer, Wendall Sammet, Irene Bivin, Harold Smith, Tom Crowe, Terry White, Toddie Clark, The Morgan Horse Association of America, the grandchildren of Rudolph W. Tauskey and a few who prefer to remain anonymous.

Special thanks to Dale Churchill and the staff of the AKC Gazette.