About

A woman sits on a balcony, reading a book in the afternoon sun. She calmly looks up from her page then leaps out of her seat: her baby, not yet a toddler, is busily hurrying down the sidewalk and halfway to the corner. Somehow, he has made it out of the crib, out of the apartment, through a heavy oak door, and down brick steps to the street…

The woman in question was my mother, the baby in that bit of family lore, me. I’ve not stopped exploring since, having lived in four countries since then, and worked in a fifth. Then as now, I frequently travel; new since my days in a crib, I carry a camera.

Each place is a presence for me, having a character a energy all its own. Most places share aspects of their identity with other locales, much like a family resemblance. Others are unique. Regardless, I seek to capture the magic of place through photographs, presenting elements of its character in novel ways. The highest praise I’ve received is when locals comment “I’ve never noticed that aspect before.” I also feel I have succeeded when viewers share that they feel something when viewing one of my photographs.

I primarily work in 35mm and similar formats, film and digital. A good portion of my work is in color, but my favorite medium is infrared. Capturing a wavelength of light which neither human eyes nor camera meters can perceive is challenging, but rewarding. It has the benefit of transforming the everyday into something both familiar and foreign. These I usually present in black and white, although digital infrared capture has enabled me to re-introduce color in targeted ways, which I use to accent the mood. Infrared requires exploration an interpretation on different levels simultaneously, which is what keeps me engaged with this mercurial medium.

Particularly I am attracted to patterns, both natural and man-made. Pattern and line are the noun and verb of each photograph, presenting an alternate take on the everyday. I seek a uniqueness of perspective in order to highlight a particular characteristic of a place. I shoot to relax: the irony is that in my other work helping groups of people work better together, I am also looking for patterns. That, a love of cinema, and my early study of architecture while in school inform my approach to photography. Pattern, feel, story…

To my travel and architecture work I have added people, primarily artists engaged in their craft. Dancers, musicians, circus performers, film makers,…each provides new patterns, new energy, new feelings and stories which unfold. Reinterpreting performance into a new medium has been an interesting exploration for me, both as collaborator and as artist. I hope you enjoy my work, and I hope even more that you will feel something when viewing these works.