As far back as I can remember, I was always drawing pictures, a self-taught Artist. My first real instruction came from Captain Bob, a television show, in which this old sea Captain would teach you to draw amazing pictures of animals, starting with basic shapes. I recall my bedroom walls being plastered with these drawings and of illustrations I copied out of Marvel comic books. Later I began copying Da Vinci's and Durer's work. All the while drawing things from imagination and real life.
Later I got some formal education, learning about painting, sculpture, composition and various other artistic stuff. Always having a passion for the classics and not so much interest in modern movements.
I won my first camera in a radio call-in contest on WRKO in Boston. Later my older brother helped me by my first 35mm camera, a Mamiya, and later, he gifted me his entire darkroom when he moved out on his own. I was hooked. I would take my camera everywhere and photograph everything, my favorite subject, and still is to this day, is people. It was very magical watching the images first appear on the developed film and then to see them materialize out of nothingness under the red light of the darkroom.
My love of drawing never subsided and I always had a sketchbook nearby and still do. Soon I was winning awards and getting my illustrations published in such magazines as Horse Illustrated, Grue, and Iron Horse. By chance, an editor from Hot Rod Bikes saw my work and hired me to photograph events for them. Soon there was more photography than illustration.
My first studio was sandwiched between a bank and adult toy store in downtown Northampton, MA, property owned by the two women running the toy store, with the rent being free in exchange for photographing all the items they sold for their online catalog. My main focus, other than sex toy still-lifes, was still portraiture. The nice women that owned the shop started sending me people that wanted sexy pin up and boudoir type images, with the end results looking more like paintings done by the old masters and not something you would see in adult magazines. My work of that nature was soon dubbed "Extreme Renaissance", with my style being so unique, I was soon asked to display my work in a public Gallery showing. Not much of the work from that time exists today other than that in the possession of my clients as all was lost during a house fire back then.
At one point, I spent some time working with Olan Mills, who at that time was the country's biggest portrait studio, photographing school kids and church members, there was much traveling and long hours involved. I left there and opened another studio focusing on local clients and those I wanted to work with.
Another photographer had opened up shop on the same block, I didn't think of her as competition as we both had different styles. One day my friend's mother came to visit from France, she spoke no English. We met at my studio and were heading down the street to a local restaurant for lunch. She stopped and examined all the images that were on display in my studio window, the three of us continued down the street and were passing the other photographer's studio, she stopped and examined the images displayed there. And before I knew it, in Old World fashion, this elderly French woman was waving her arms and passionately speaking loudly in her native tongue to her son, pointing at my place and back to the studio we were in front of.
When she finished he translated as best he could. She had said that the people in the images before her were dull, lifeless, and dead and those in my images were overflowing with life! That was the biggest compliment I could ever receive. Later, I was informed that this dear old French woman had worked with Robert Doisneau and was also his lover. Doisneau being one of my favorite photographers made the compliment even more meaningful.
Over the years, I have literally photographed hundreds of people, from all walks of life, naked and clothed, one by one and in groups. It is the enriching of another person's life that my photography brings that keeps me photographing people and enjoying the entire process.
While my style is distinctive, it is the subject that dictates the end result.
I have had gallery showings, my work has been purchased by and is held in private collections worldwide, those aspects have their charm but not much interest for me.
It is the extra glint in the eye when you smile, it is the bringing out that part of your personality you want to express, it is capturing the living human being that you are and preserving it for eternity!
It Is providing you, personally, with an image of you, that you love, that is what matters.
That is what I am here for.
That to me, is being an Artist.
11/3/18
