Biographical Sketch I’m a traditional, end of the road, into the dirt, landscape photographer. I was born in San Diego and have lived in California ever since. From an early age family and scout camping trips, picnics, and hikes instilled an appreciation for the diverse landscapes that were accessible from our home in southern California. Adjacent chaparral-covered open space served as a private "outback" for everything from building forts to collecting rocks. The beach was only a few blocks away. During school vacations, my father took us to out of the way parks and wilderness areas, desert springs, ghost towns, old mines, and historic sites across the West.
Photography eventually became a logical way to share my love for the out of doors. I’m self taught but wish I had taken some formal darkroom classes early on. I did pick up the rudiments of b&w processing from my brother, John, who was adept at converting our bathroom into a lab. Public libraries provided plenty of practical and inspirational material. Like so many, I was enthralled by the epic views of Ansel Adams and the intimate landscapes of Eliot Porter. Friend and mentor, John Hawksworth, long time host at Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoias, taught me how to "walk in the woods," to observe thoughtfully, and to never stop pondering. Photographer Paul Johnson of Borrego Springs shared his enthusiasm and expertise for tackling the challenges of "desert light." A workshop I attended in Utah with photographers Phillip Hyde, Dave Bohn, and writer Edward Abbey, also helped confirm my path. Any artistic skills I may have acquired came from my mother, who was an accomplished painter, potter, and art teacher. No single event launched my career. After doing some b&w copy work and horse shows in the early 1970's, my former wife and I opened a small studio in Oakhurst, California. For ten years we enjoyed a steady diet of high school proms, weddings, little league teams, senior portraits, rodeos, and commercial projects. I worked my way up through 35mm, medium format, and 4X5 film cameras, doing much of the darkroom processing myself, both b&w and color. A turning point came when I sold a picture to Sierra Club Calendars, and I concluded I had finally arrived as a landscape photographer! My family tree is well stocked with camera wielding writers, environmentalists, and freelancers, so the decision to change course and concentrate solely on nature images seemed inevitable. I reluctantly joined the digital world after my beloved Pentax 6X7 film camera dove down a waterfall on a backpacking trip in the High Sierra. My companions convinced me that this was a sign from God that I needed to embrace the latest digital technology. My work has appeared in various national and regional calendars, books, and magazines. Subjects have ranged from state parks and national forests to native American rock art, oak trees, California's Eastern Sierra, and Baja California, Mexico. |
Helping my father roll up sleeping bags on a family camping trip to the Sierra de Juarez, Baja California, Mexico, circa 1952.
I was commissioned for the photography and text for the book, Torrey Pines: Landscape and Legacy, a 1994 publication about Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. I have had major solo exhibits in Fresno, Palm Springs, and San Diego, as well as participated in numerous group exhibitions. Personal highlights were the inclusion of my photographs from Baja California in the San Diego Natural History Museum’s exhibit, Desert and Sea, which was displayed at the Smithsonian. Other Baja California images won first place in several landscape categories in 1999 at an international competition in Mexico City sponsored in part by the World Wildlife Fund. I have been hired for specific landscape assignments by clients such as The Nature Conservancy, the San Diego Natural History Museum, The Trust for Public Land, and the Quechan Indian Tribe.
I attended Stanford University where I received a degree in the Classics. One professor observed that even when alone, Classics majors “always have someone interesting to talk to.” Landscape photography is essentially a solitary endeavor, and the ability to embrace the solitude of wilderness settings has served me well over the years. A passing acquaintance with Latin and Greek has also proved helpful with Spanish, scientific nomenclature, and wordsmithing in general. Had I made different choices, I might easily have become an archaeologist or historian. I consider my pictures akin to journal notes taken from many hours spent afoot and afield. My biggest investment is time–wandering, observing, waiting. Luck is also an indispensable ingredient. Some scenes are unexpected gifts, others have to be chased down. And always in the background has been the loving encouragement and support of family and friends. Despite the advent of computers and the digital world, I believe landscape photography remains a form of personal communication, a creative process fraught with hard work, near misses, and abiding satisfaction. As technology evolves, my goal is still the same--to create artistic images through the discipline of sound camera craft, composition, and lighting in order to share places that have lifted my spirit. My wife, Sue, and I live in Escondido, California, with our dog, Inspector Clouseau. |