Frequently Asked Questions
What type of photographer do you consider yourself to be?
Social documentary is the pigeon hole I live in. It can be placed somewhere in the neighborhood of Journalism, down the block from Visual Anthropology and across the street from Reportage. My work represents a mix of visual personal curiosities, involving issues of social interest and importance. But sometimes not.
What equipment do you use?
Like a lot of photographers I enjoy talking about equipment and gear. But I would be remiss if I did not comment that photography is not about the equipment. It is about seeing. As Lance Armstrong said, It's not about the bike. That said, I am a Leica shooter. Most of what is viewed on my website was taken with a Leica MP. More recently I have made the digital conversion and am shooting with the Leica M8. All lenses are fixed. Focal lengths are: 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 75mm.
Film to digital conversation is made with a Nikon ED 9000 film scanner using Silverfast software. Raw conversation is made using Aperture.
Who are your photographic influences?
If you are photographer leaning to the documentary and journalistic, you cannot escape the shadow of Henri Cartier-Bresson. Like Ansel Adams setting a standard for landscape and nature photogaphers, Cartier-Bresson set the bar. But for me it is Robert Frank. Frank demonstrated that photography can have an enduring vision transcending a single image. Frank turned dross into gold. Literature has had an equal influence. Joan Didion taught me that the common place, artistically rendered can be compelling. And the great modernist, James Joyce, taught me that everyday can contain magic.