artist statement

I am interested in the iconographic imagery I discover in this quintessentially Midwestern region, central Illinois. I was born here, raised here, educated here, and I have lived here all my years. I am hopeful my photographs reflect my deeply personal appreciation for all the visual curiosities I find along the way. Design aesthetics are as central to me as photography itself. And no matter the subject, it always begins with a vision, a feeling, about both the approach and the presentation. And when I get it right well, that’s what keeps me coming back.

I grew up convinced that a camera was simply an annoyingly functional part of family-life, Brownies, Instamatics, Polaroid Land cameras and the lot. Not even my first cameras, a Pentax K-1000 and Canon AE-1, would convince me differently. I continued to use the camera as a purposeful tool documenting my drawings, prints, paintings, and ceramic pieces. A few years down the road it would take chronicling a grueling eight-hour surgery that would send me out one weekend with my own camera, using it irretrievably for me.

Former Director of Photography at MoMA John Szarkowski stated: “When you pressed the button the camera described what was in front of it. That’s what photography is.” Indeed, it is that moment. Cliché? Hell no, it’s an adrenaline rush. And then you’re on to the next one. And it's just like that. I'm hopeful for those moments.

And me, I'm just a joyful curmudgeon that photographs whatever the hell he wants.

My inspirations span seven decades; they are emotional touchstones. Influence, that's "a horse of a different color" said the Gatekeeper to Dorothy. I'm influenced by my heroes William Christenberry, who embraced his beloved Hale County, Alabama, and his friend William Eggleston, the “father of color photography.” And Joel Meyerowitz, his work, and his book A Question of Color put all this picture-stuff into perspective. Fashion photographer William Klein, and painter Ellsworth Kelly, and journalist Charles Kuralt, all fiercely independent.

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