The
first time I picked up a 35mm camera and shot my first picture,
I realized that with this mechanical device I could record a vision
of the world I saw through my mind's eye. And what keeps me taking
pictures is that the world I record never quite represents what
I see. That's because there is always more to life than can be captured
on film or digitally. Life is of the Spirit. Photography is man-made.
This is the fascination and the mystery of photography. I am always
in search of the perfect photograph to capture and explain this
Spirit life we all live.
I attended Northridge University and received my degree in anthropology.
I guess that’s why I have always been interested in people.
Similarities and differences between human beings is the tapestry
that adds color and richness to the world. Although I am a songwriter
and poet, having written and published extensively, my great passion
has always been and will always be photography--black and white
and color, using film and digital cameras.
I love black and white photography because
color sometimes detracts from the truth of a situation. People can
be dressed in diamonds and silk and glitter majestically when they
walk. However, take the diamonds and silk away and you still have
just simple humans aware of their mortality and searching for immortality.
I love color photography because God gave
us a rainbow-colored world to enjoy and uplift us. White light is,
after all, merely a combination of all the rainbow colors. White
light shined through a glass prism separates into all the rainbow
colors of nature. Black is the absence of light. And so, sometimes
I want to see the splendor of God's creation rather than the plain
truth of it. It depends on my mood. I can work for weeks on a photograph,
from start to finish, to try and achieve an emotional response inside
of me when the image is finished.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to
photograph the world as I see it and in this small way be part of
it.
Los Angeles