My photography journey began as a teenager working at Henley’s photo shop in Bakersfield, California. For a number of years my father and I roamed the Tehachapi Mountains, the southern San Joaquin Valley and the California coast range in search of “anything beautiful” to photograph. Wildflowers, oak savannas, and the Mojave Desert were just the beginning of my love for the vast beauty, and varied stories, of nature’s wonders.
Photography was put on hold for a number of years as school, family, and business took me in various directions. But as time passed I once again took up my passion when I became a member of the Fresno Camera Club and the Photographic Society of America (PSA).
In 1986, I began studying with many of the country’s renowned working professional photographers. Their tours and workshops I’ve taken part in for the past 20+ years became my respite from the business world and the stresses of daily life. My passion for photography and the creative process took a quantum leap forward during this time period.
During the early-90s, I became a member of Spectrum Gallery in Fresno, California, a fine art photography gallery. I produced two successful solo exhibitions in the course of my membership. Additionally, I won awards with National Geographic and was featured in National Geographic Traveler calendar and magazine. For a period of time a number of my images were available through the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park, California. My work is published in books, postcards, covers, corporate journals and annual reports, and is a part of many private collections.
More recently my interest has shifted toward the abstract, as I find myself spending more and more time on in-camera effects (such as multiple exposures and other forms of camera movement), montages, macro, and impressionism. Freeman Patterson teaches photographers to “see” subjects as shapes, rather than "things." To this end I do not limit my subject matter.
Early in my photography journey I believed that my photography was for and about me. As the years have passed, I know now that my photography is about the effect it has on the person experiencing it – and the meaning it holds for them!
Your interest in my photography is greatly appreciated.
