Imagine, as a youth, the delight of seeing a photograph made with your own camera emerge magically on paper immersed in liquid.  After learning about the technical process, my appreciation for the artistic photographic image gradually followed.  Over the years, developing an ability to visualize, capture and print photographic images remains a welcome challenge.

My first "real" camera came as a gift from my father.  He realized my serious interest and wanted me to have his prized 35mm German camera, a Zeiss-Ikon Contax, vintage 1950.  Despite my father's praise of the camera, my mother, a trained artist/painter with a keen eye, often observed the photographs it produced lacked fine detail when the small negatives were enlarged.

At age 18, a family friend and photographer, Gregory Chorlian, taught me the basics of traditional black & white film developing and darkroom printing techniques.  Workshops with professional photographers in New York provided exposure to aesthetics of photography.  As my interest deepened, my mother's comment  rang clear.  There was a limit to the detail an enlarged 35mm negative could yield. 

Master photographers such as Strand, Evans, Weston, and  Adams provided inspiration.  Their photographs were breathtaking ! Those photographers all preferred the classic, large format view camera requiring a single large sheet of film (4"x5",  5"x7",  8"x10" in size or larger) for each exposure. The large film, many times the size of a 35mm negative, yields marvelous, sharp detail.  The view camera must be mounted on a tripod and presents the focused image upside down on a translucent etched glass viewing screen, called a “ground glass.”  This allows the photographer to compose the photograph carefully while working under a blanket like "dark cloth".   By today’s standards, old-fashioned and time consuming !  However, that slower, contemplative process provided a wonderful model for serious photography.  

Encouragement came from a former assistant of Ansel Adams, Liliane De Cock, whom I met at a New York publishing house.  Liliane encouraged me, then age 26, to show my work to Mr. Adams on an upcoming trip to California.  What a remarkable opportunity !  I wrote asking for an appointment and Adams responded with an invitation to visit at his home studio in Carmel, California. He offered thoughtful suggestions atop fair criticism. 
To my surprise, he asked for a print of one image that he particularly liked !  Today, that photograph is in the Center for Creative Photography Collection in Tucson, Arizona, as part of the Ansel and Virginia Adams Collection.  (click here to see the image and Ansel Adams's response).   Workshops with Ansel Adams (and other distinguished photographers I've admired) provide lasting benefits and prove the learning experience never ends.

I became interested in digital imaging in the late nineties, though not convinced the quality could match that of a large format camera - not to mention the significant investment in digital equipment and related computers, software, etc. Over the years, digital quality has evolved dramatically.  This prompted me to explore digital photography in more depth, including color imaging.   Digital processing is quite different from traditional methods and, while challenging at first, can be very rewarding.  

I continue to use film (analog) as well as contemporary digital processes, often in combination.  For example, if using a film camera, I'll process the B&W film in a "wet darkroom" and scan the negative into digital format.  PhotoShop or other software is used for post processing and making a final print via high quality digital or inkjet printer.  Software applications provide a degree of control unattainable in the traditional “wet darkroom” printing process.

At times, I considered pursuing photography as a profession taking on projects including newspaper assignments, architectural photography, magazine advertising and even aerial photography. Professional work seemed very attractive from a financial standpoint.  However, satisfying the requirements of others proved far less rewarding to my artistic soul compared to the enjoyment and satisfaction my personal work provided. While I admired photographers who succeeded at doing both, I preferred being my best and only photography "client".   Accordingly, my vocation is in businesses unrelated to photography.

STATEMENT

INFORMATION  (Exhibits -Collections)