Greenville surgeon's photos of residents win medals at Wilmington photo exhibition
As a surgeon, Thomas Mammen has saved lives.
As a teacher of surgeons, he is passing along knowledge that will save lives in the future.
And as a photographer, he is creating something that lives “far beyond your lifetime,” he said.
“That beauty is my contribution.”
Some of his dramatic photos unite his vocation and avocation. They showcase chief surgical residents in the operating room, and he gives them black-and-white prints at their graduation.
Six of his photos are in the 85th Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography, which draws from thousands of entries from around the world and opens Sunday at the University of Delaware’s Arsht Hall in Wilmington. Four of Mammen's photos won prizes, including one best in show.
“When he first showed me his stunning black-and-white images made in the operating room, I was blown away and knew he had something special,” said Dee Langevin, chair of the exhibition. "Most of us never see an operating room unless we are under anesthesia, so Tom’s images are a portal into a mysterious place."
The Malaysian native said he always loved photography. His father gave him a camera when he was 17 and starting studies at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, in 1965.
He and his fellow medical students turned part of their dorm basement into a darkroom, making an enlarger with a decades-old Zeiss Ikon, a 200-watt bulb and a bicycle chain.
“The renovations cost next to nothing, but we had a great deal of fun doing photography with like-minded friends,” he said. They started a photography club and “created their own liberal arts education. The stimulation was there.”
“There’s something magical about watching an image appear in a developer,” he said. “It teaches you patience and how to be methodical. That’s still a thrill I have watching the print come out of the printer. Is it perfect – or what you hope is perfect?”
Mammen moved to the U.S. in 1974 and to Delaware in 1975. He was first in private practice and in 2005 joined the teaching faculty of Christiana Care Health System’s surgery department and served as director of the chief’s surgical service.
He decided to capture on film the residents at Wilmington Hospital near the end of their five years of training in “a dramatic slice of what they did” and give them keepsake prints.
“I thought of them as my own children," he said. "I’m their work dad.”
Mammen uses black and white, and that treatment "strips away the distraction of color and enables the viewer to focus on the surgeons at work," exhibit chair Langevin said. "His artful treatment of light and shadow highlight the intense focus of doctors in action."
The photos demonstrate the keystone of photojournalism, which is telling a story, she said.
"The unusual subject matter, strong storytelling and skilled photography" led to judges accepting all four of his photojournalism prints and awarding him three medals, including a gold medal for Best in Show.
“Taking a Look,” a photo of a resident looking at an off-camera screen display during a laparoscopic procedure, earned him the photojournalism best in show. “Team Work,” showing an abdominal laparoscopic procedure, earned a silver award. “Delicacy of Touch,” a photo showing a Bovie electrocautery tool in use, earned a bronze award.
“You can see the intensity of their faces,” he said.
He retired in 2016 and has continued to take photos of residents to preserve his tradition.
At home in Greenville, there are “photos and paintings everywhere. I’m running out of wall space.”
Priya and Pradeep, the two children of Thomas and Mariam Mammen, have followed their father with careers in medicine and pharmaceuticals and interests in photography.
Thomas now likes a Nikon D7100 and a Canon G11 for traveling. His advice for other photographers is simple.
“Look around, read a lot, take a lot of photos, follow the principles of design and join a group," he said. "The word ‘dabble’ should be banished. You have to take the plunge to really learn.”
HOT STORIES NOW
Mumps cases from Hispanic dances rise to 9
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography
WHERE: Arsht Hall, University of Delaware’s Wilmington Campus, 2700 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington.
WHEN: Noon-5 p.m. Sunday and noon to 4 p.m. April 15. For its 85th exhibition, the Delaware Photographic Society has selected 300 prints. An additional 200 digital photos will be shown in a 45-minute audiovisual show at 1, 2, and 3 p.m. both days. Prints may be independently viewed April 9-13 during Arsht Hall’s regular business hours, starting at 9 a.m. Some prints, donated by the photographers to the exhibition, will be available for purchase.
ADMISSION: Free
MORE INFO: www.WilmingtonInternational.org