While in fifth grade Mr. Lasagna taught a class on how to make a pinhole camera and develop film, I was hooked. Having Dyslexia found a way to candidly express myself. As a fifth grader with Dyslexia it was a curse, with a camera dyslexia is a blessing. Rarely have I been without a camera since.
Growing up in a Southern California beach town surfing distracted me from school which I skipped regularly. The school system at the time treated Dyslexia as a handicap, not very motivating or good for self esteem. I surfed most of the day and took photographs to express myself. Being absent from school so often I got in a lot of trouble, having to serve detention for absence regularly. This is where I met Mr. Foster, a high school teacher who asked me one day, “What interests you? What would motivate you to attend school?” My response was, “Surfing and art”. Some weeks later Mr. Foster gave me access to his ceramic class and darkroom in the evenings during adult education, this made the years in High School more worthwhile. Regular school attendance began.
I enjoy capturing the moments of daily happenings. A constant in my life has been photography, rarely have I been without a camera. My photography spans almost 50 years, nearly never traveling without a camera, using a variety of cameras but prefer my Canon AE-1, Olympus, Canon Sure Shot and some others love the experimental process, the unknown of the outcome. Finding a weirdness in the natural flow of everyday life, the overlooked mundane aesthetics, the idea of expressing myself with a picture of what surrounds me at any given moment. Continuously exploring reinterpreting the qualities in the scenes of everyday life that I come across. (items missed in our busyness) Adventure, curiosity, passion and travel.
I Print and process my art work in my studio, larger works are printed in another studio. I prefer limited editions, I’m self taught and constantly learning new techniques and more about myself, nothing to do with monetary value of producing only so many. I believe it’s not art till the ink hits the paper the good results will not be duplicated.
I have an avid curiosity to go places I’ve never been a fascination to explore and question. “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere."-Dr. Seuss.
Growing up in a Southern California beach town surfing distracted me from school which I skipped regularly. The school system at the time treated Dyslexia as a handicap, not very motivating or good for self esteem. I surfed most of the day and took photographs to express myself. Being absent from school so often I got in a lot of trouble, having to serve detention for absence regularly. This is where I met Mr. Foster, a high school teacher who asked me one day, “What interests you? What would motivate you to attend school?” My response was, “Surfing and art”. Some weeks later Mr. Foster gave me access to his ceramic class and darkroom in the evenings during adult education, this made the years in High School more worthwhile. Regular school attendance began.
I enjoy capturing the moments of daily happenings. A constant in my life has been photography, rarely have I been without a camera. My photography spans almost 50 years, nearly never traveling without a camera, using a variety of cameras but prefer my Canon AE-1, Olympus, Canon Sure Shot and some others love the experimental process, the unknown of the outcome. Finding a weirdness in the natural flow of everyday life, the overlooked mundane aesthetics, the idea of expressing myself with a picture of what surrounds me at any given moment. Continuously exploring reinterpreting the qualities in the scenes of everyday life that I come across. (items missed in our busyness) Adventure, curiosity, passion and travel.
I Print and process my art work in my studio, larger works are printed in another studio. I prefer limited editions, I’m self taught and constantly learning new techniques and more about myself, nothing to do with monetary value of producing only so many. I believe it’s not art till the ink hits the paper the good results will not be duplicated.
I have an avid curiosity to go places I’ve never been a fascination to explore and question. “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere."-Dr. Seuss.
Some influence from Contemplative Photography photographic masters like Robert Frank, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Vivian Maier, Solmaz Daryani, Jeff Brouws, Tina ModottiFlor Garduño, Harry Gruyaert, Philip Jones Griffiths, Dorothea Lange Josef Koudelka, Germaine Krull, Margaret Bourke-White, Garry Winogrand, Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Peter Beard and Saul Leiter who wonderfully said, "Seeing is a neglected enterprise."