Bio

Images captured by the photographic process are limited compared to images seen by the human eye. However, many times these limitations produce a finished effect that is astonishing and captures something the eye cannot quite see. I love photography because of this.

A close up photo, which limits the view of an alpine wildflower or a frozen leaf embedded in an icy pond, provides a photograph with beautiful details that our eyes may miss. Our eyes have a much wider field of view and many times are too busy to stay focused on a scene. The limited exposure range of film as compared to the eye also can create wonderful contrasts, which creates photographic moods that again might be bypassed by our eyes.

I became interested in photography in college where I took several photography related courses. After college, I spent the next 20+ years as a computer software engineer and pursued photography as a hobby. A few years ago, I left my software career and returned to photography full time. My love for photography and my experience in computers has helped me be more creative and self-reliant by utilizing the best of both worlds.

The Photographic Process

For my personality and the kind of nature work that I do, I prefer using a 35mm film camera and on occasion I use a medium format camera. Most of my work is done with a Nikon F5 35mm film camera using color transparency film. For landscape photography I normally use Fuji Velvia 50 slide film for its fine grain and its warm tones. For wildlife photos, I use Fuji Provia 100 slide film for it’s faster speed and more natural tones.

Once a professional photo lab has developed he film, the editing process begins on the light table. Only strong images are ‘keepers’ and they are cataloged into a database, labeled, and filed.

Once the editing process is completed, my best keepers are digitized and stored on digital media. Later, the digitized photos can be used for making prints or for commercial licensing purposes. My digital process starts with scanning the color transparencies with a professional Nikon LS-4000 film scanner connected to an Apple Power G4 desktop computer. Like all reproduction processes, scanners lose some information from the original. Sharpness, exposure, and color tones can be affected. I make the necessary exposure, sharpness, and color correction adjustments in the scanner software but I mostly rely on Adobe® Photoshop® to make these minor adjustments after the slide has been scanned. I do not use these digital techniques to enhance the image in any way except to bring the image as close as possible back to the original slide.

For print sizes less than 16 x 24 inches, prints are made in my digital darkroom with professional quality Epson Photo printers using Epson Archival pigmented inks and Epson photographic papers which provide an archival photographic life from 70-100 years. Prints from these Epson printers provide excellent photographic quality.

For print sizes 16 x 24 inches or larger, prints are done by a professional photo lab using Fuji Crystal Archive papers which provide excellent photographic quality. This paper has an archival life of 60-70 years. Prints are made on CSI's Lightjet 5000 digital photographic printer. This is an excellent photographic printer for larger images.