Like many photographers my age, my journey began at camp in the late 1950s where some form of Kodak Brownie camera was all I needed to explore the wonder of taking pictures and then developing them myself. All black and white, they are long gone from the dusty boxes and albums that held them. From that point on I would always take photos whenever I’d experience some special place or event. A series of inexpensive cameras was all that I required to continue this occasional hobby until, like many others, I realized the need to up my game (and equipment) to coincide with the birth of our first child… I was hooked! However, I was yet to really approach the “art” of photography and was still only recording scenes, not creating art.

Fast forward and I was taking photography classes at The Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL, The Art Center at Highland Park, Highland Paak, IL and the Chicago Botanical Garden (CBG), Glencoe, IL. While these sessions provided much needed inspiration and guidance, it was truly the CBG that really stirred a passion in me to explore what I could imagine and capture through the lens. It was there that my natural inclination towards humor, abstraction and Surrealism really took hold and influenced my techniques and practices from that point forward. From my early days of taking classes at the CBG and elsewhere, I began exhibiting my work.

Images, imagery, imagination... I take photos of scenes and objects that intrigue me, usually because of the interplay of color, shape, and spatial relationships. Humor, Surrealism, and abstraction are key to what intrigues me in my subjects. My process is defined by my ability to identify these characteristics on site or to draw them out of my images after the shoot. My themes, subject matter, and treatment tend to repeat themselves continually. I’m fascinated by creating abstraction where there is none or focusing on the “bones” of things…the rusted, peeling, broken, and discarded. Like a magpie, I’m also drawn to bright shiny objects and vibrant colors that draw me in or spin me out. Whether I create the latter or find it naturally in a subject is irrelevant. I enjoy the post processing aspect of creating the final piece of art as much as snapping the shutter.