Statement
When I was a child, my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I still recall my answer – “I want to sit on a park bench and watch people”. All these years later, that’s expanded to watching all forms of life from where ever I am. For me, the time spent observing builds to what the “grand father” of street photography, Henri Cartier Bresson, described as “the decisive moment”. That’s when you press the shutter button.
People going about their business are endlessly entertaining to me. Often times funny. Often times sad. However, Covid and now street crime have caused me to minimize my time on the street. Today, my focus is on landscapes and nature. To the same end, I spend lots of time observing a landscape, a setting or fauna, waiting for the decisive moment to press the shutter.
My photos have been shown in major Washington state photographic and art shows. Some of the awards won have been Best in Show at the Washington State Fair “Washington Photographers Salon”, Merit Winner at the SW Washington Juried Art Show and President’s Choice Ocean Shores Juried Art Show. Six times my photos were accepted for entry at the Collective Visions Juried Show where recently I won 2d place in photography. One of my photos was published in “Seattle Magazine”, two others in “National Geographic” on line.
Thinking now about how I "see", most every image is a portrait - whether a human or a mossy old rock. “You can observe a lot just by watching.” – Yogi Berra. To me, that’s photography!
Bio
I've been taking photos since 1970 when my college room mate let me try his single lens reflex loaded with black and white film. The bug bit! That summer, I set up a dark room in my parent's garage bathroom. My first camera, a Nikon F.
Three years later, after completing my BA in economics, I attended Brooks Institute of Photography (Santa Barbara CA) for nearly 1 year. Realizing that the type of photography I wanted to do would not make me a living , and burned out on months of 20+ hour days, I left Brooks with only about 40% of the curse studies complete. Off to New York to earn a real living (Thank God for that econ degree!). But the camera stayed behind. Just over 35 years later with a career in forest products sales and marketing behind me, a family raised and a mortgage paid, I decided to re-find my "eye" again as retirement approached.
It took me 2 or 3 years to start to "see" photo opportunities again. Like most aspiring photographers, landscapes were my initial focus. But over the next 7 or 8 or so years, I trended to abstracts involving architecture and nature. My favorite is what I call "guerrilla photography" - some call it street photography. Today, because of covid and now street crime, I’ve returned to landscapes but done with a portrait view.
My photos have been shown in major Washington state photographic and art shows. Some of the awards won have been Best in Show at the Washington State Fair “Washington Photographers Salon”, Merit Winner at the SW Washington Juried Art Show and President’s Choice Ocean Shores Juried Art Show. Six times my photos were accepted for entry at the Collective Visions Juried Show where recently I won 2d place in photography. One of my photos was published in “Seattle Magazine”, two others in “National Geographic” on line.