Aside from reading, critiques from a photography club in college, and a one-day course with the Nikon School of Photography, I am basically self-taught.  I picked up a camera in my early teens and learned to line up the shot so it looked right. As I grew older, I started to see "frames in the air" and traveled the Bucks County, Chesapeake Bay and Vermont countrysides recording as many of them as I could.  Later in life I followed these "frames" around Germany, France and distant parts of the U.S. When the frames stop, I stop shooting.

While in high school, my photograph "Hay Wagon" received honorable mention in a Bucks County Conservancy competition in Doylestown, PA.  It was the first public acknowledgement of my work.  I went on to college at Ursinus and unintentionally continued my newspaper work while studying economics and business administration. I ended up putting in four years as a writer, editor and photographer and became Editor-in-Chief the end of my junior year. 

The necessity of the staff wearing many hats and needing a picture to go with the stories kept me shooting on a regular basis. Photojournalistic assignments such as campus events and the local Carter-Reagan election stops gave me plenty of practice. Shooting sporting events, such as basketball, lacrosse and field hockey --not to mention the NCAA Divison III Basketball Final Four in Rockville, IL-- raised the bar even further.  

My appreciation of fine arts also led me to capture still-lifes and more tranquil moments, many of which appeared in the campus literary magazine "The Lantern." My senior year, my sailboat image entitled "Evening Reflection" was selected for permanent exhibit at the Student Union Building, now the site of the Berman Museum of Art. On graduation day, a faculty advisor, Dr. Derk Visser, wished me well and added "Do something with your photography. You have a real talent."

I never wanted photography to become a daily grind for me, so over the years, I have remained essentially a hobbyist with the occasional paid assignment, but to this day I keep a camera nearby. These days, I use a digital Canon AF80, a Nikon F5 or a Hasselblad 500C.

Some of my favorite photographers have included both famous and not-so-famous names such as Albert Eisenstadt, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Dominique Issermann, Karl Lagerfeld, Barbara Walz, Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell, Bruce Weber, Don and Fred Imus, and Alison Shaw.  Whether for their technical skills or their visible connection with their subjects, they have all inspired me. My key goals remain composition or balance, critical timing, natural lighting and good capture of color.

Over a year ago, I shot some images of the local Quakertown Swamp for the Heritage Conservancy. Some of those photos (along with Stu Shrauger's more accomplished work) are still being exhibited in the area. In addition, as an active volunteer for Quakertown Alive, I am often called on to provide photos for their purposes. Many of these can be seen at their web site: www.quakertownalive.com. The display of my other work, for now, will mostly be limited to this site, aside from the images held in private collections of friends, family or admirers.