Five years ago, Alfred Feingold, MD, retired as an anesthesiologist from Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He now returns to the hospital at least once a week, a camera around his neck where a stethoscope used to hang.

At the age of 68, Dr. Feingold is making a name for himself as an operating room (OR) photographer. He takes pictures during surgery, focusing on the health care providers rather than the patient or the procedure. In the past five years, he has taken pictures of hundreds of Miami-based doctors, nurses and aides. He was commissioned by Dartmouth College, his alma mater, to shoot a series of photos in the ORs there. His photography adorns the hallways of at least two large hospitals in the Miami area and his work has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers.

Dr. Feingold’s colorful Web site, http://www.imageofsurgery.com/, tells “the story of surgery” using his own photos along with iconic illustrations—some dating back to ancient times.

“We refer to the operating room as the operating theater for a reason. There is a drama taking place in there where the audience—the patient—misses the performance,” he said. “The doctors and nurses spend long hours every day in their craft. Patients never see that. I try to capture the way it really is.”

Dr. Feingold was introduced to photography in high school and loved it, eventually becoming the yearbook photographer. Later, at Dartmouth College, he was the photo editor of the student newspaper. He pushed photography aside when he started medical school in the 1960s. For the next 30 years, he focused his time on his family (wife, two children and, recently, two grandchildren) and his practice (he worked both in private practice and at the university).

In the late 1990s, Dr. Feingold shifted to part-time practice and picked up his old photography hobby to fill the time. This time, instead of taking pictures of his classmates, he turned to his colleagues. By now, he has taken photos of much of the OR staff of two teaching hospitals. He has completed portraits of more than 40 anesthesiologists, 125 surgeons and countless nurses and physician extenders at their places of work. He has captured images taken during intense cardiac surgeries and of orthopedic knee surgeons. He also has photographed morbidity and mortality conferences and the transport of patients.

As an active senior—he still bikes more than 100 miles a week—Dr. Feingold usually spends two or three days a month photographing at the hospital. During a photo shoot he hangs in the background of the OR, preferring to use the lights there rather than bringing his own. He leaves the room if the operation becomes very risky. He said he aims to capture the drama and the personalities at work in the OR.

“I believe I bring something that a commercial photographer doesn’t. I know the moves, I understand the unique lighting of an operating room and the elaborate equipment,” he said.

Photography of the OR has given him a way to use his medical training in a new way, he said. “I truly loved my work as an anesthesiologist. When I retired, this was a way I could explore the operating room from a different perspective.” He offered some advice for retiring physicians. The four key things, he said, that make his retirement enjoyable are “family, fitness, finance and photography.”