"The still image is the finer art"

The Value of Photography 

     Through photography we may improve our world and the plight of our fellow man as well as creatures great and small by documenting and bringing to light not only the preciousness of life around us, but also the effects of corporate greed, ruthlessness of politics, ravages of war, effects of natural disasters, genocide and the cruelty of man against all creatures, starvation of masses, poverty, injustice, the plight of the homeless and the destruction of our world.

     The beginning of my photographic journey was a direct result of  two aunts who taught school in Santa Fe, New Mexico convincing my parents that I needed to be involved in the arts. After viewing a couple of my first works at painting with oils they encouraged me to find another medium. It was at this point that they decided to ask me what interested me. My answer was "photography" thinking that this would surely get them off my back. Shortly after giving them my answer I was presented with what looked like a box with film in it.  I was instructed in it's use. "To take a wide picture you turn the camera sideways and to take a tall picture you turn it straight up"...such were the technical instructions for taking landscape and portrait shots. There were two view finders. one on the top if you were taking a vertical and one one the side if you wanted to take a horizontal shot. A knob on the side was used to advance the film and the shutter release was a real nifty looking lever with a rounded red button. But with such antiquated equipment I got hooked. I read everything I could get my hands on that was related to photography. If I lacked the funds to buy a particular book I visited the library or picked the brains of a photographer willing to share information. 

     I will confess that during the initial stages of my journey I equated needed improvement  with newer more expensive equipment...when the problem was not the equipment but my camera practices.  As photographers, whether in the studio or the great outdoors, light is our most powerful tool. In simple terms we use instruments to measure it and a box with an adjustable hole in the front to control the amount of light entering. Whether we spend several thousand or a hundred dollars for a camera our best results depend more on our software than our hardware. Scott Smith in his book on Studio Lighting said it well," it's not all the hardware that makes a photographer good at what she/he does...it's the software between the ears....it's what we know about the hardware and light and how we apply it." Knowledge is power." 

     We made the decision not to build or lease a studio in a strip mall or in an affluent area for several reasons. We did not want to run a photography mill (so many sessions a day) just to meet overhead. We want to be able to give the client our undivided attention. We study the individual. We look for ways to capture their own unique personality and spirit. The larger purpose being to have the time necessary to create artistic portraits. We schedule no more that 2 sessions per day. Since we also shoot on location we decided that a professional  studio adjacent to our residence would give us an edge in today's competitive business climate by reducing overhead and operating costs when we are on assignment and away from the studio. 

• 25 years photography experience.

• Lived and attended schools in Florida, New Mexico and Mississippi.

• Graduated with honors from Clark College.

• Serves as Instructor Trainer and National Training Director for internationally recognized scuba training agency.

• Organization affiliation with Professional Photographers Association (P.P.A.) and National Press Photographers Association ( N.P.P.A.).

Field and Special Assignments 

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