I think it’s genetic that I am in the arts. My father is a dabbler artist. He’s been a painter, printmaker, sculptor, jeweler, and collector. My mother was a collector and supporter of artists and arts organizations. My four brothers have all been involved in one fashion or another in the visual arts.

My earliest memory about photography revolves around a trip to Disneyland. I was about 10 years old and was given access to a Kodak Instamatic camera for the trip.

That woke up the visual side of my brain. I was hooked. I have been looking for that special image ever since.

At 18, in the spring of 1974, I went to a photography seminar sponsored by the Friends of Photography, in Carmel, CA. There were lectures by Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, Bret Weston, Cole Weston, and Minor White, to name a few.

My portfolio review session with Ralph Gibson and Arthur Taussig were pivotal to my career. Their insights helped me find my visual voice.

San Francisco State University was perfect for me. It gave me every opportunity to develop artistically, academically, professionally and personally. Neal White, Don Worth, Ralph Putzker, Catherine Wagner, John Collier and especially Jack Welpott had great influences on my photographic approach and philosophy.

Art photography is a visual and when successful, an emotional medium. Most of my images are quiet, still, sometimes stark.

My photographs are very deliberate. I will look at a possible photograph for months. I am always looking for images. I look for the essence of what most would consider mundane and give it a visual perspective.