About

At a friends home about age 15, I came across a copy of "The Family of Man", the 1955 New York Museum of Modern Art photography exhibition by Edward Steichen. That encounter impressed on me the potential of photography to tell a profound story and change people's hearts and minds. Not long after, a family friend gifted me an old Pentax of his with a single 50mm lens.

In my early twenties I enlisted in the US Army and was able to receive some formal training in photography. Back then, a three-year enlistment enabled enlistees to choose their military occupation. After basic training and photography school at Ft Monmouth NJ, I then spent 2-1/2 years as a still photo specialist stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. After my enlistment, I returned to my home in Seattle and for two years I worked in a professional photo lab and did some freelance work.

In 1977 I returned to school first earning a Bachelors degree in Architecture at the University of Washington, then a Masters degree in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania. I then spent the next forty years as a project architect working for design firms on both new design and historic preservation projects. During that time I continued to carry an old Nikkormat FTN 35mm film camera and shot lots of Kodachrome 64. Some of the images on this website are from film scans of shots from 1974 to 2002.

In 2002, I bought my first digital camera, a Canon 20D. The advantages of shooting digital and being able to post-process images on a computer rather than in a darkroom caused my renewed interest and enthusiasm to takeoff. After the 20D, I had a 50D, then a 5D2, a 5DSr, and now an R5 (all Canons). For a few years I also owned a Mamiya 645AFD with a Phase One P25+ digital back. I loved the image quality of the Phase One, but the constant switching between two systems was annoying and I could see the greater potential in the line of 35mm systems available. With the R5, I’ve now gone mirrorless!

As an architect, I was the left-brain building science, contract documents, and construction administration guy. Since my retirement I've been consciously working to develop my right-brain, art and aesthetics potential, and photography is my medium. I love to travel and get outside to shoot when I can, but I also really enjoy the post-processing on the computer working to get the most out of the shots I've taken in the field. Lately I’ve been looking more at the work of painters — both classic and contemporary — for inspiration and understanding.

The thing I love most about photography is how it encourages you to slow down and look more closely and comprehensively at the world around you. You see things with a greater attention to detail and gain a greater understanding of the interconnectedness of all things and the nature of reality. For me, “The Art of Observation” is the perfect characterization of the concept that a “Buddha perceives the true aspect of all phenomena”.

Those times that I spend wandering about in wild places (and some not so wild) capturing images of the world around me are the times I feel most connected to the universe and the universal. This website is my attempt to connect others -- connect you! -- to the places I've been, and the sense of beauty and wonder I feel when I'm there. Thanks for visiting!