Gleb and Wallis Derujinsky

Born in 1925 in New York City, Gleb Derujinsky was taking photographs, developing and printing them by the time he was six years old, and in fact, with the help of his apartment building superintendent, built an enlarger when he was ten, using a paint can as a light source and a camera as the optical system. One of the few, if not the only teenager ever to be invited to join the New York Camera Club, Derujinsky was exposed to the great photographers of the time, such as Steichen and Steiglitz, through his membership.

Straight out of Trinity School in New York, Derujinsky was drafted to serve in World War II, reaching the rank of staff sergeant by the time he was nineteen. After the war, he obtained a GI loan in order to open his first photographic studio. He subsequently photographed for Esquire, Look, Life, Glamour, Town and Country, The New York Times Magazine, and ultimately worked almost exclusively with Harper's Bazaar™. His trip around the world for Bazaar inaugurating the Boeing 707, he photographed fashions in exotic places from Turkey to Thailand and created some of the most exciting photographs of the nineteen sixties. In the late nineteen sixties Derujinsky began directing television commercials, and became a member of the cameraman's union and the Directors Guild™. He won the Cannes and Venice film festival awards for best direction and cinematography, as well as, the New York Art Directors award.

Gleb raced autos and was sponsored by Ferrari America. He flew sailplanes in cross country competition and in the late sixties and early seventies, was one of the top ten sailplane pilots in the country. He designed and built carbon fiber bicycles for the U. S. Olympic team.

In 1976, Gleb Derujinsky moved to southwest Colorado. He opened a custom jewelry shop and, as an avid skier, eventually also became a ski instructor. He continued his passion for photography and continually photographed many facets of the west.

In the past, his deep interest in music led to his photographing several jazz musicians. And several years prior to his death he again took up the piano, playing Chopin and a bit of boogie woogie now and then.