Artist's Statement
The organization of elements in the natural landscape has always been the factor that motivates my photography. I view our environment as an organism teeming with interactions, interfaces, and patterns that draw our attention and demand exploration and expression. To me, the term environment has an indefinite scope, containing components made by Mother Nature, by man, or both. It is the interplay of discordant or harmonious components that make a scene noteworthy: mountain v. valley, barnwood v. blossom, shadow v. highlight, shapes that jump from their background with unnatural definition, forms that exude unnatural power. An image can be identifiable or abstract, though the difference can be simply a matter of viewpoint. It is my intent as a photographer to see and interpret outstanding patterns in our environment and present them to heighten a viewer’s appreciation. Viewing others’ photographs has always enhanced my own perspective and I hope to do the same for others. After spending a career in medical research and health statistics, I have brought the same scientific affinities to my art work. I harvest images on film or digitally, from 35 mm to 4 x 5, color and black and white. Each print is a methodologically precise statement of a discovery from a walk in the wild or my backyard. Not surprisingly, my idols always were the Group f/64 artists like Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Imogen Cunningham, but also their successors, like Howard Bond and John Sexton. Andrew Wyeth, whom I would characterize as a photographer by means of a brush, has also been an inspiration to me for his ability to draw significance from seemingly mundane subjects and for his unique visual perspectives. At one point, like most people, I used the camera simply as a means to document what I had seen. My viewpoint has long since matured when I accepted that I should not separate my self from my work. Rather, I strive to capture what I perceive as the essence of my environment, to incorporate within it my personal understanding and to refine my vision clearly to others in a final print. |