Inspiration

I’ve learned a lot about lighting and especially composition from studying centuries-worth of great painters;  from early art photographers such as Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Henri Cartier-Bresson;  and now successive generations of great photographers.  I’m privileged by the availability of social media and also in person to see great photographic work almost every day, and to learn a new thing or two every day.

My greatest inspiration is the world itself, both the natural world and that which we humans have created.  The regular practice of photography can be a powerful tool to immerse me in that world.  The secret is to be fully present, where photographing becomes a meditational practice, being here and now.

If the doors of perception were cleansed,

Everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.

--William Blake

Techniques

My photographic work is mostly about shooting rather than posting.  I usually intend to reach the best composition in the camera, while present with my subject.  But I’m not a purist against doing anything I can to make it better in post.  Canon cameras and lenses.  DJI Mavic 2 Pro.  IPhone.  Post mostly Lightroom, plus a little Photoshop, Aurora, and Topaz.

My fine art photographs are printed using state-of-the-art, professional inkjet printers and archival papers, and will last over 100 years when displayed in normal conditions. Prints can be ordered framed or unframed. Framed prints are professionally framed using acid-free matboards, solid wood frames, and UV-resistant, anti-glare glass. Canvas gallery wraps are printed using Ph-neutral, bright white cotton canvas, and the canvas is then stretched over a wooden stretcher frame, and coated with a matte, UV- and scratch-resistant finish. Metal prints are printed using Chromaluxe aluminum panels. The image is infused into the metal using a dye sublimation process, resulting in a visually striking, sleek, modern piece of art. Acrylic prints are printed using a giclee process on Epson glossy photo paper, and the print is face-mounted to a 1/8" thick piece of acrylic glass. Canvas gallery wraps, acrylic and metal prints do not need to be framed, as all of these come ready-to-hang with hardware installed.

career highlights

Although I started out after college as a still photographer for several years, I entered the Master’s program at UT Austin in film production, and from then on worked mainly in motion photography, first film and then video.  I did work as a teaching assistant for the UT Photojournalism Dept.

Moving to Dallas, I started out as a freelance grip and gaffer, later as an assistant cameraman and then cameraman, and occasionally producer.  Along the way I worked staff positions at Stokes Associates, SW Teleproductions, Bob Carter Food Photography, and much later, HD Vision.  But for most of my 30+ years in the Dallas production market, I was a freelance cameraman, and owner or co-owner of several production services businesses including RGB Post, Texas Production Facility, and Pennsmith HD.  The HD in the latter was because I was one of the first freelance cameramen equipped to shoot high definition video in the southwest US.

Now based in the Austin area, I continue to work in motion photography as a Jimmy Jib owner-operator, and as an art photographer.