Artist Highlight

"From the time I bought my first camera for a photojournalism class in college, I realized I had a passion for photography.  Since then I have been comfortable with a camera in my hands whether I was taking shots of vacation or on mission trips to Africa or Southeast Asia

For many years I have been told by family and friends that I have an eye for photography and I should do something with it.  Finally in the Spring of 2012 I began formulating a plan that in time, I hoped, would allow me to leave the corporate world and pursue my passion for photography.  I upgraded my equipment and software and began a crash course to try to shorten the learning curve I was facing.  Well the plan came to fruition as I retired from the "real job" in the Spring of 2016.  My wife and I purchased a motorhome and with a full tank of freedom we headed out to travel the country and do art shows. (You can see my current schedule under "show schedule".)

What I have discovered is that photography is a life long learning process.  No matter where you are in the process, there is always more to learn should you care to do so. Technology is constantly evolving bringing new and innovative processes.

I have also come to realize that photography is more than just learning from books, manuals, and tutorials.  Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of technical skills you need to acquire if you are going to record great images but there is an intangible that all the technical books or rules of composition can't teach.  That "eye" I referred to earlier I simply define as the innate ability to convey emotion through a two dimensional medium.

It's the sound of the waves crashing into a rocky shoreline, the silent beauty of a meadow filled with spring flowers or the unexpected joy of an orphan child living in the most primitive conditions.  All elicit different feelings deep within us.  I believe what makes a great photographer is the ability to convey those feelings, calling on all the technical skills they posses, and transferring their own emotions to the image they are creating.

This is my challenge and my goal in my own work.  I want you to hear the crashing of the waves, smell the summer flowers, or feel the innocent joy of that orphan child.  To the extent I am able to do so will for me be the measure of my success as a photographer.  I consider myself a work in process.  Constantly trying to hone my craft and improve the images I create

Thank you for being a part of my photographic journey by viewing my work.  Please feel free to leave comments in the galleries should you have the urge to do so.  I hope to at least some degree I am able to elicit some emotions from your past or convey the emotions I was feeling when I captured an image".