About

I started taking pictures in 1969. My first camera was a Yashica rangefinder, with nothing automatic. Most of the pictures I took were over exposed or under exposed, out of focus or just plain lousy. However, it was a great camera to learn on. A few years later I bought my first single lens reflex camera – a Canon F-1. With the exception of a Mamiya medium format camera, I’ve stuck with Canon ever since and have never been disappointed.

Initially I used Kodachrome and Ektachrome slide film, then moved to color negative film. I set up my first darkroom in 1974 in the bathroom of our two bedroom apartment. Since this was the only bathroom in an apartment for two adults and two children (our third was still in diapers, number four was still in the development stage, and our fifth wasn’t due for another ten years), my set up had to be very portable. Developing color film requires very exact temperature control, which is hard to establish in a bathroom sink. Needless to say, many of my first rolls of film didn’t come out exactly the way they were supposed to.

In 1976 I had the fortune to move my family to our first house and become friends with a fellow photographer – George Williams. George invited me to set up my equipment in his darkroom and share his space. For about three years I was lucky to work side by side with him and learned more than I could have imagined – not just about the mechanics of taking, developing and printing photos, but about the art involved as well. Over the years my late wife, an artist in several different media, has also been an instructor and an inspiration. Although a reluctant traveler, she has further expanded my horizons.

After working with color slide film and color negatives for about three years, I took my first black and white photos, which opened up an entirely different world to me. I know this seems backwards, since most photographers start with black and white and then move to color, but I guess I had to do things the hard way. It is my opinion, though, that it requires much more talent to take good black and white photos than color. But that’s just me.

During the 90’s and into the new millennium I made the transition from film to digital – another learning experience. Anyone can point and shoot a camera, but there’s a big difference between taking snapshots and being a photographer. As long as I have been doing this, I’m still learning. This web site includes a collection of photos I have taken. Although they’ve been digitized for the web site, they include examples from negative and slide film as well as digital. I hope you like what you see, and that some of them give you ideas or inspiration. If you have any questions about any of them, send me a note. I’ll be glad to share what I know.