My first camera was a Kodak Brownie that used 127 roll film and a waist level viewfinder. I was in junior high school and it was the beginning of a lifelong love of photography that I have enjoyed and used throughout my career and personal life.
Following college graduation, I moved from California to the Midwest where I began my career as a TV news reporter/photographer for a combination TV broadcast and newspaper group. I worked double-duty shooting with an Arri 16mm film camera for the television station and used a Nikon F with Kodak Tri-X film for the newspaper.
After working my way up to chief photographer and producer at ABC and NBC stations, the unrelenting daily deadlines, heavy travel schedules and growing trend toward editorialized news coverage eventually convinced me to move into advertising and television commercial production. Photography continued to play an important role in my career as I moved from ad agency creative director to marketing, sales and operations director in the motion picture post production industry.
I’m constantly working to expand my knowledge of photography and have attended the Brooks Institute of Photography, UCLA Extension Program and Santa Fe Photography Workshops. My chemistry-based darkroom long ago gave way to Photoshop CC and digital printers which have added the need for a whole new level of continuing education.
For me, clarity is the essence of communication. First, you need to define the message, visualize it and then execute. Good photography is all about telling a story and conveying an emotion. I strive to combine a journalistic approach with creative concept-directed photography.
I enjoy volunteering my time shooting portraits for deployed military families and event and publicity photos for NGO’s and community organizations. Occasionally, I also teach photography classes and workshops.
Newsreel photography with a CP-16