While traveling in India, I was admonished by an indignant street vendor for photographing his yellow lentils “while there are so many beautiful things in India”. I explained to him that his lentils had a wonderful color and texture in the morning light and the cast shadow made for an exquisite sweeping curve leading up to the rich red pepper that he had placed in the lentils for decoration. These were the days before digital photography, so I was unable to show him my photograph, but he did look carefully at his lentils, and then gave that uniquely Indian sideways nod. I’ll never know the lasting effect this exchange had on him, but for a moment, he did see his lentils in a new way. While making images is largely a self satisfying endeavor, my larger goal is to introduce people to new ways of perceiving with the hope that this new awareness will open their minds to alternative approaches in all facets of life.
I have made many different kinds of compositions throughout my life and I have always been struck by that moment when everything comes together and feels right. Striving for that feeling is what keeps me creatively motivated. Sometimes it is elusive but I feel fortunate to have had more than my fair share of those moments. This site is an attempt to share some of those moments.
My Serenity project focuses on calming imagery of natural elements. I spend a lot of time in nature where I feel most peaceful. I use the inherent beauty of my subjects, together with composition techniques to suggest serenity. Most of the time I eliminate the contextual setting as a means to remove the distraction of a recognizable place. This technique emphasizes the textures, colors, proportions, and forms of a subject which I have found are keys to serenity—when one takes time to see them. On occasion, it is the bigger context which suggests the feeling of serenity and I occasionally include these types of images—especially in the Places collection.