Artist Statement

Much like a vintage Rolleiflex camera, I view the world through twin lenses -  the analytical eye of an architect, and the creative eye of a traditionally-trained film photographer and darkroom printer.  My education and experience as an architect have given me fascination with buildings, infrastructure, and the urban environment. Taking up analog photography in my forties, I was mentored by a master printer of the West Coast school, affording an understanding of content and meaning, composition, tonal scale, and pre-visualization to guide the creation of an image.  I choose to work in black and white, reflecting my love for that medium of expression. 

My current project, pursued digitally, is inspired by the landscapes and built environment of Allegany County, New York. It represents a confluence of my interests in architecture, landscape photography, and family history. My roots here are deep - my ancestors once lived in twelve of the twenty-nine towns in the county - and I am of the seventh consecutive generation to call Wellsville home.

For the past eighteen months, I have traversed the village centers and back roads of the county, pursuing the iconic, the typical, and the mundane.  Patriotism, property rights, gun ownership, and economic hardship are some of the hallmarks of the regional identity. Recurrent themes in this project include the independence and isolation of rural life, the decline of family farms, the dwindling of the regional manufacturing base, and the patina of age. Empathy, objectivity, and occasionally humor, are essential touchstones guiding my work.