When I was about 10 or 11, I saw one of those ubiquitous Olympic Sales Club ads in the back of a comic book that promised cash or prizes for selling greeting cards. One prize was a little plastic camera that I just had to have and so began my new greeting card enterprise. I don’t remember how many cards I had to sell but I do remember finally getting my camera in the mail and along with it, all the anticipation and fanfare of Ralphie’s Little Orphan Annie decoder ring but with much more promise and excitement than
being told, Be Sure to Drink your Ovaltine.
That cheap little camera was all mine and I couldn’t wait to start taking photos. Those first few rolls documented a day at Hershey Park; however, my new venture was somewhat deflated when I got the prints back. That camera had so many light leaks that the pics resembled an early Pink Floyd light show. I had psychedelic photos of roller coasters, lines of people and even some action shots I managed to take from on the rides. Sadly, that plastic meniscus lens camera didn’t last too long and, it seemed, was the 70’s version of a disposable camera but man oh man, what fun!
Not too long after my “prize” camera became landfill fodder, I happily acquired a used Polaroid Swinger Model 20 that my parents found at a yard sale. It looked brand new and I couldn’t wait to get film for it to try out. The Model 20 took roll film instead of the pack of white framed prints that Polaroid is known for. I remember buying a few rolls from Ritz Camera at the mall which provided pre-digital instant results. That camera was a lot of fun to shoot and I wish I still had the shoebox full of prints I made with it.
To this day, I still shoot film and develop my black and white negatives at home. I scan the negatives to digital creating an analog/digital hybrid of sorts. I was shooting a Linhof Kardan Color 45s 4x5 view camera but developing those larger negatives was somewhat cumbersome so I shoot with a Mamiya RB67 Medium Format camera that uses 120 roll film. I’m also shooting with a 35mm rangefinder and SLR film camera producing negatives that are much easier to develop.
I was born and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and have been working as a photographer for almost 15 years. I graduated with a degree in Computer Information Systems from Central Pennsylvania College and a degree in Graphic Design from Hagerstown Community College. In 2009, I earned a Certificate of Graduation from New York Institute of Photography.
My photography has been accepted two years in a row for the Annual Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon and displayed at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. My framed and matted prints have been shown in the gallery of The Washington County Arts Council, The Thought Lot, Lotus Moon Gallery and most recently, the Franklin County Art Alliance’s annual art exhibit in 2018 and 2019.
I’m currently working on a “Portraits of Appalachia” project utilizing my 6x7 medium format film camera.
I reside in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania with my wife Siobhan, son Collin and four cats, Henri, Ansel, Bella and Olivia (two of which are named after photographers, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams).
Inspiration
In my teens, I had a growing collection of vinyl and was drawn to the photography and graphic design that comprised the artwork on the album sleeves and covers.
I became an instant fan of some of the great photographers and graphic artists behind the album art such as Henry Diltz, Mick Rock and Storm Thorgerson.
Some of my favorite photographers are:
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Eugène Atget
Robert Doisneau
John Szarkowski
Garry Winogrand
Graham Watson
Robert Frank
Bill Brandt
Ansel Adams
Edward Weston
Sally Mann
Benjamin Walls
Irving Penn
Michael Kenna
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Dorothea Lange
Jim Marshall
Elliott Landy