biography -

Raised in Omaha and Chicago, I was first exposed to photography in 1968 at the age of eight. Residing next door was the late Declan Haun, former National Geographic photo editor, then shooting for Black Star, having left Life Magazine by then. I've been involved with photography since the age of ten. I've dabbled as a hobbiest, been an art student, worked as a professional and exhibited work publicly.

The acension of the World Wide Web in the mid-nineties led me away from photography and into other areas of employment. I continued to freelance and produce editorial work for publication until 2002, though due to the increasing dominance of digital technology, I last set foot in a darkroom in 1995 and last shot film in 2001. Currently I work in Information Technology at a small, midwestern university.

In 2006, upon becoming elligible for free tuition at my place of employment, I elected to take a beginning photography class in order to re-habituate myself to darkroom procedures. This rekindled interest in the darkroom equipment I had gathering dust in my basement. Several weeks into the semester, I began planning and then constructing the new darkroom. It was innaugurated before Thanksgiving.

Ironically, the Web, central to my drifting away from photography has been central to my returm. Growing my knowledge and skill has always been in part a reflection of the information to which I have access. Previously that was largly limited to the books and magazines I was fortunate enough to come across. Now, the Web provides not a rich library of material upon which to draw, it gives access to active communities of passionate photographers with which I'm able to share work and information.

In the intervening years photography has been tranformed by the rise of digital photography. Working in and around newspaper photo departments, I saw from beginning to completion, the entire transition from film cameras and darkroom printing to digital images moving directly to the printing plate. It was a fascinating vantage point. When I last worked in a darkroom, the tools and processes represented the standard manner for producing photographic images. As I re-enter the darkroom, these are now the province of artists and hobbyists. This too is a fascinating vantage point, as the shrunken and shrinking marketplace for equipment and materials creates a growing challenge for those of us practicing "traditional" photography.