AboutTheArtist

About The Artist

My personal experience of the natural world began in 1971 when I traveled to several national parks and forests over the course of eight weeks. Having spent my early years in urban New Jersey, in the brick and concrete of the New York City metropolis, I was completely amazed and awestruck by the incredible diversity and beauty of our nation’s landscape.

I have found that photography and hiking are a natural combination of activities for me. I enjoy the quiet, calm solitude that I find in wild places. I often become completely absorbed in the process of composing and exposing an image, sometimes losing sense of the time that has passed.
I favor compositions that display subtle lines, patterns and forms, and those that capture the ethereal qualities of light, or the varied colors of spring and fall. Water, in its many forms, is a favorite subject to photograph. Water can display overwhelming power in a cascading falls, chaos in white water rapids, or stillness and serenity in a calm lake. As mist, it can suggest mystery. As storm clouds, it can create a sense of foreboding. Impressionistic or abstract reflections on water’s surface can form some of the most appealing images.

A photo records a moment frozen in time, a sense of place. A picture of familiar scenes, or recognizable places, may stimulate a thought or feeling from within a person’s bank of memories and experiences. The lines, shapes and colors of an abstract image are visual cues that each person sees in their own unique way. Such images can serve as a framework on which the viewer's mind may build it's own vision. Very close up "macro images often obscure the identity of the subject, freeing the viewer to respond to the colors and forms.

I have been fortunate to journey to a wide range of locations, and to have the opportunity to photograph fantastic sites and scenes. It became apparent to me early on that when people viewed images of our wild places they often felt a more personal connection to the environment. People who experience that personal relationship with the great outdoors are more inclined to support community efforts to protect our limited wilderness areas. In this way, it is my intent that my images contribute to the preservation of the ever-dwindling wilderness areas of our planet. I remain continually grateful for the opportunity to spend my time among the wonders of our natural world, expressing my passion through photography.

During that summer of travel, I made many photos with my friend Steve's camera. I was captivated by the wilderness and by the process of composing a photographic image. Hiking and backpacking soon became my favorite activities, and early in 1972 I purchased my first single lens reflex camera. That Minolta SRT-101 served me well for many years.