Artist's Statement
I started photography in the early 80's after many years of drawing
with pen and ink, painting, and doing some sculpture. While at the Maryland Institute of
Art, I often felt it was difficult when working on a painting or drawing, to stay
focused and keep a creative streak going for a long period of time. While taking
a course in silk screening I found I liked the process of having to do some technical
as well as mechanical procedures to achieve an artistic result. The combination was
very appealing to me. I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in May of 1981.
Shortly after my graduation from the Maryland Institute of Art my interest in
photography began.
It has always been important to me to print my own work. The idea of taking my negatives to a lab for someone else to print always made me feel like I was doing half the job. So much of the creativity is done in the darkroom. You can make decisions on cropping, lightening or darkening certain areas of the print, and so much more. Another person cannot make these choices for you. It's your work, you have to decide for yourself. Up until recently black and white photography provided the best avenue for photographers to do their own printing. Printing in color photography until recent years was difficult and expensive, which is why I very seldom did any color shooting.
For sixteen years I worked in the newspaper business as a photojournalist. As time went on newspapers started going more and more electronic with their photographic work. I learned these new skills and eventually put together my own electronic darkroom in my home. I can now work in color as well as black and white. With my electronic darkroom, I'm creating most of my color and black and white photos on my computer using Photoshop CS to create the image, and then printing my images with the use of an Epson 2200 printer. For many years, I resisted the electronic system but now I see the definite advantages of using it. For example if you want to work on a certain area of an image, you can isolate that area and work on it without affecting any other part of the image. In a traditional darkroom it's very difficult to isolate an area you want to work on and not affect other areas of the image. I still enjoy the traditional darkroom and work in it from time to time.
For many years I worked exclusively in black and white. I always liked the emotions and moods black and white photography conveyed, and I still favor it. What I enjoy the most is working with patterns, light, shadows, and silhouettes. In February of 2002 I was in New York City. While walking through Manhattan looking for something to photograph, I was noticing people's shadows as they walked along the sidewalks. In Manhattan the sidewalks have lots of very old grating and are full of interesting cracks in the concrete, which, along with shadows, create many patterns and graphics. While in Manhattan I produced the photo "Foursome".
I recently developed an interest in working with imagery of people's hands, arms and feet in action while riding bicycles, skateboards, rollerblading, jogging or walking. The shadows cast added a lot in forming designs and patterns. I spent some time photographing along the Alki Beach area of Seattle, which is an active place for outdoor activities. This is where I created the photo "Crowded Alki Path".
Photographing animals is another favorite interest of mine. I like capturing them in interesting poses, for example, while walking or relating to other animals. I also enjoy photographing birds in flight. I do this by using a camera technique called panning. Panning is done by locking the focus on a moving object and following it for several frames. This gives the image a feeling of movement. I captured this feeling in the photo titled "In Flight".
The photos "Foursome", "Crowded Alki Path", and "In Flight" mentioned in this statement can be seen on the website.