What's New

Book Published

I have published 46 images from my American Tobacco Factory project in soft and hard cover editions. The former measures 10x8, and the latter is 13x11 with a dust jacket. I am extremely proud of these books, and it represents a major accomplishment. The books were self-published using Blurb print on demand process. Previews of the books can be seen and ordered on the Blurb web site. The links to order my books are:

Soft cover 10x8: www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/282976

Hard cover 13x11: www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/277278

Alternatively, signed books may be purchased directly from me at $35.00 and $79.95 plus postage. Payment may be made by check or through pay pal. Books will be shipped once I receive them from the printer (approximately 2-3 weeks).

I will be updating my site on a more regular basis. If you wish to be notified of new images placed on my web site please send me an e-mail with the following in the title line: WEBsite Update. When I update my web site I will send you an e-mai.


Artist Statement

As a photographer, I am primarily drawn to landscapes that have drama as well
as a quiet beauty. As an artist I endeavor to find an organization and flow that
conveys feelings and emotions - whether of awe, quiet serenity, drama, wonderment
or mystery. I try to capture nature's designing hand, the forces of time, wind,
fire, and water, that shape the landscape as well as shaping man's artifacts.
Recently, I have been exploring Iceland, a landscape almost alien in character
and radically different from landscapes that I have photographed in the US, although
shaped by the same forces. Sometimes I am drawn to photograph the details of man
and nature's design that are often unobserved, and bring attention to them out
of context as abstractions. The use of positive and negative space within the
texture and tonalities of the subjects make the images powerful and dynamic.

For six years, I have explored and photographed the historic American Tobacco
Factory (ATF) in downtown Durham, NC, as it has been transformed from 24 acres
of neglect to upscale real estate. This project has been fueled by childhood memories
of growing up in an inner city of New Jersey, an area rife with abandoned factories
and failed urban renewal efforts. While mindful of the toxic product produced
by the ATF, I have nonetheless sought to bring forth powerful images that convey
with empathy the site where generations of workers earned a living. The extreme
lighting conditions of these interior landscapes transform vacant spaces with
drama, energy and mystery. My work there has transitioned as the remarkable renovation
transforms the buildings to a workplace and jobs for a new generation. While the
prints of the ATF make up a coherent body of work, each image stands as a significant
image on its own, as must every photograph.

I feel that when I am exposing the film my subject matter is the light, and the
print tonalities become my vocabulary to communicate to the viewer. Thus, as much
as composition and content are vital to a successful image, I feel it is equally
important to create images composed of tonal relationships that captivate and
communicate to the viewer. In the darkroom I endeavor to produce prints of brilliance
and varying tonal palette - images composed of dramatic shadows and highlights,
ethereal high key prints, richly layered silvery grays. To me a successful image
must be successful at every level, technical, composition, design, and an internal
brilliance. Then I feel that a print is able to communicate an emotion and elicits
feelings from the viewer.

Please note that all print sizes are approximate.