Background: While the black and white prints I developed in the high school darkroom are long lost, I still have the Canon A1 I bought new at the time and used for the photography classes. Even after becoming a “deliberate shooter”, so many photographs of my earlier adventures and living aboard fall into the landmark or selfie snapshot category. Sentimental to be sure, but not fit for print.
Fast forward several decades. After gentle encouragement from a dear friend (and very accomplished photographer), I finally took the step into contemporary digital photography in order to get closer to birds and wildlife. Since then, photography for me has evolved into something I do to complement an interest or activity. Photography enriches experiences for me.
Artist Statement: One of my recent efforts focuses on high-contrast imagery from the world's tallest buildings. This subproject is associated with perpetual travel photography, emphasizing discovery as a visitor with little to no familiarity with a particular destination. Wildlife remains a deep interest and constant subject, often serving as the primary purpose of my travels.
As much as I enjoyed the people and shooting a second season as a club photographer for the Maryland Polo Club near my home in Harford County, MD, I don’t expect to continue. The more I see wild horses and compare their expressions to images of distressed horses in equine sports, I can’t help but come to the ultimate conclusion that not only are the horses unable to consent, I’m pretty sure they would chose to be at liberty with their pals in a pasture than participate in any form of equestrian sports. Among my most treasured memories are riding my old buckskin along the front range in Colorado while following the Equine Science Program at CSU. As much as I love riding and seeing the graceful athletic movement of these beautiful creatures, I can’t help but come to the ultimate conclusion that forcing horses to entertain us is nothing less than exploitive, especially with so many alternatives available today. To extend the spirt of Sting’s equally painful but true lyrics, “If you love someone, set them free.” You can love horses or love equine sports, but you can’t truly love both at the same time.
My artistic process relies heavily on fully exploiting the monochrome palette and executing precise focal framing to energize the emotional gravity of each frame. By isolating subjects with a shallow depth of field, I'm trying to draw the viewer into an intimate, face-to-face encounter with a lion's raw gaze, a zebra's stark contrast, the explosive motion of a polo match, or the complexity of human facial expression.
Ultimately, my photography is an archival tribute to the majesty of living things, the beauty of nature, the curious complexity of people, and structure as an expression of humanity. Curated images are intended to challenge viewers to pause. In an age where our attention faces constant competition, I seek to temporarily suspend space and time so that a moment can be fully appreciated without distraction, instead of being lost in the infinite blur of existence.
Gear: For camera people - Most of my travel gallery images were shot with a Sony A7IV or Sony A7CR, which I began using in the Everglades Gallery. To date, I use a Sony 200-600mm, often with a 1.4TC, and a Tamron 28-200mm do-all zoom lens. Sabi Sands and Chobe safari shots were taken with a Nikon Coolpix P950. Despite the smaller sensor and lower megapixel count, most of those images print very well up to 11x14. If you’re more of a bird and wildlife enthusiast than photographer and find yourself flying weight restricted bush planes and sharing safari vehicles with others, I suggest considering a superzoom bridge camera.
Cautionary Note: For safari-goers, as of 2026, Ethiopia is serious about their no binocular policy, even if you’re just transferring overnight in Addis via Ethiopian Air. You may be given the option to keep them in left luggage, but it’s a time consuming hassle. Regarding binocs, on a more personal note, I strongly recommend high quality compact 10x25 binocs, such as Zeiss Victory or Swarovski CL Pocket. I have also personally used the Athlon Midas 10x25 and highly recommend them as a more budget friendly alternative. The smaller size and weight are priceless in the field. More recently I have been using the Vortex 10×25 Solo Monocular and have been pleased with its ease of use for scanning.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliations with any camera equipment or optics manufacture, retailer, etc.