bio
i've had a lifelong interest in photography. as a young child i had a kodak brownie and the first poloroid instamatic. the creative process seemed to come quite naturally.
in college i bought a good 35mm camera and learned to develop and print from film. After college, i worked in the graphics trades which included running a darkroom for a print shop.
i was getting deeply into the process when it became clear my body couldn't handle the constant chemical exposure. i left that work and also let go of photography. it was a sad decision.
when the first computers and digital cameras appeared their quality was not up to my standards.
every few years i'd check in on the digital scene. it took awhile. over 30 years later a friend gave me a hand-me-down digital point and shoot when they upgraded. the photographic spark returned.
this coincided with a move from portland to rural eastern oregon providing a vast opportunity for landscape, wildlife and nature photos. it's quite different from anywhere i've lived. with fresh eyes in a new place and the best digital gear i could afford, i've finally allowed a delayed lifetime interest to unfold.
funny how things unfold over time.
i'm drawn to, called to, the natural beauty in landscape: interesting lines, earth colors, wide open sky and vast panoramic vistas. the texture of rocks & canyons is infinitely interesting. dawn light seems the most compelling.
and...snow. i love how snow changes a scene. add in a sky full of stars or moon as lighting and i'm in photo-bliss.
sometimes, when setting up a landscape scene, wildlife move into the frame.
my overall, deepest desire is to know a place so well, thoroughly, intimately and allow that to be expressed from camera through to a framed print.
nature has been my best teacher of the photographic process. i find a place that calls then learn what is necessary to make something beautiful. often this involves take a photo, return home to play with it, revisit the place and try again. sometimes this goes on for awhile. winter brilliance at cathedral rock took four years.
my background in the graphic arts gave me a love of ink on paper. i have a large format inkjet printer to make big panoramic prints. i'm learning to make rustic frames from local rough milled lumber.
even through there was a large gap from college to now, it all seems forgotten with the joy and deep nourishment that comes with wandering backcountry oregon, finding the natural beauty within landscapes and wildlife along the way.