Artist Statement

Background
Originally from the east coast, I moved to Portland, OR in 1985 and was immediately and profoundly affected by the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. In 1992 my wife and I moved to Seattle and two years later we moved once again to Bellingham, WA, where we stayed until 1996. We now live in Vancouver, Washington. During the past several years I have explored and photographed the wilderness landscapes of Washington and Oregon, building the body of work shown on this website.

I am a self taught photographer and have been making images for over twenty years. I studied as a biology major and then worked as a carpenter for ten years. I later returned to school to study Graphic Design and I now work as a freelance graphic artist. Throughout this time I have stayed active as a photographer, showing my work in group and one person shows.

Wilderness Landscapes
I feel very fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest. I can leave my home in Vancouver, WA, head in almost any direction and within a few hours find myself in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. We have high mountains that give way to lovely desert, a magnificent coast, marshland and sound water, all together in one corner of the country. I can’t think of a more diverse and abundant landscape than the Pacific Northwest.

When I moved here from the east coast over 15 years ago this landscape changed me as a photographer. Before moving here I had been mostly an urban landscape photographer, drawn almost exclusively to the strange and quirky. Once I visited the mountains I could not turn my camera away from the natural beauty. There was something about the landscape here that grabbed onto me and shook me. Things were different here. There was a certain strength and profound presence in the way the light played upon the land that I had not experienced elsewhere. There is drama in the way the morning clouds can gradually open for a moment revealing glacier and rock against a hard blue sky, then move to drape over it all again, allowing the scene to drift in and out of sight. The landscape here and the way clouds and wind and water all come together seems almost to have been scripted for a grand stage, yet each day it is different and always exciting. This is not an indifferent landscape, it seems intent on making an impression, as if it had as its purpose to leave people inspired and awed, never unaffected. It is a passionate land and I can’t help but feel passionate towards it. Black and white photography has given me a way to express that passion.

Technique: Landscape Photography
All images were made with 6 x 7 cm and 4 x 5 formats. I use several different films depending on the format as well as the subject. Most often I shoot Kodak T-Max and Agfapan films as well as some Ilford. Plus and minus developments along with the occasional use of PMK Pyro developer are all part of my common processes. All
prints were made on a condenser enlarger using variable contrast, fiber-based papers.
I have begun making Masks for some of my prints. In addition to the common unsharp masks, I occaisionally make highlight masks, and shadow contrast increase masks.
This technique has allowed me much more control over the tonal range in my prints
and has made printing difficult negatives easier as well as giving my prints that little extra something that we all strive for. Additional darkroom techniques such as split contrast printing and selective bleaching are used on some images for local contrast control. All prints are selenium toned for archival permanence. They are mounted
and matted with 100% museum rag.

Urban Landscapes
Although I am primarily a traditional wilderness landscape photographer, my second love is the urban landscape. I am interested in images that have a twist to them. I am not interested in images that are a simple documentation of a place in time. I want to create images that have a sense of mystery or irony, images that offer something hidden, a message or a story if you will. I hope the viewer will look at each image and wonder how it came about and will ponder the symbolism present in each scene.

The Consequences of the Threat of Patriotism Series
This group of images symbolize a dilemma we all face when one group of people uses the call of patriotism as a threat against those who express dissent. I am speaking of the “You’re either with us or you’re against us” ideology. For instance, those who speak out against war risk being accused of not supporting troops. Broadly unpopular policies pursued in the name of patriotism, both historic and recent, corrupt and degrade the image of what our flag symbolizes, not only at home but abroad. The attitude of “My country, right or wrong” places a threatening barrier between many groups of Americans who may otherwise share common goals and aspirations for their country. Since it is the most common symbol of patriotism, I used the flag and placed it in different visual contexts to express how patriotism, when used as a threat, can corrupt the symbol of our flag, and could come to represent something entirely different than what it should. Using 4 x 5 Polaroid materials, I drew upon themes of possession, confinement, separation, danger and intimidation to highlight this concept. In developing these themes I consciously tried to avoid “shock value” in my images. It was not my intent to offend, but to tread a balance of making images that would evoke thought from all political persuasions.

Patriotism does not equal blind obedience. It should never be used as a club to beat down those who have an opinion different from that of the masses. True Patriots speak out for what they believe in, they stand up against what they believe is wrong. To use patriotism as a threat against those who dissent can have severe, unwanted and unintended consequences. One of those consequences is that we all become less free. As the old saying goes, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”

If you have any comments or other questions about my process or techniques, or questions about the places in the photos or if you have any other questions,
please e-mail me.

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	Artist's Statement
Background Originally from the east coast, I moved to Portland, OR in 1985 and was immediately and profoundly affected by the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. In 1992 my wife and I moved to Seattle and two years later we moved once again to Bellingham, WA, where we stayed until 1996. We now live in Vancouver, Washington. During the past several years I have explored and photographed the wilderness landscapes of Washington and Oregon, building the body of work shown on this website. I am a self taught photographer and have been making images for over twenty years. I studied as a biology major and then worked as a carpenter for ten years. I later returned to school to study Graphic Design and I now work as a freelance graphic artist. Throughout this time I have stayed active as a photographer, showing my work in group and one person shows. Wilderness Landscapes I feel very fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest. I can leave my home in Vancouver, WA, head in almost any direction and within a few hours find myself in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. We have high mountains that give way to lovely desert, a magnificent coast, marshland and sound water, all together in one corner of the country. I can’t think of a more diverse and abundant landscape than the Pacific Northwest. When I moved here from the east coast over 15 years ago this landscape changed me as a photographer. Before moving here I had been mostly an urban landscape photographer, drawn almost exclusively to the strange and quirky. Once I visited the mountains I could not turn my camera away from the natural beauty. There was something about the landscape here that grabbed onto me and shook me. Things were different here. There was a certain strength and profound presence in the way the light played upon the land that I had not experienced elsewhere. There is drama in the way the morning clouds can gradually open for a moment revealing glacier and rock against a hard blue sky, then move to drape over it all again, allowing the scene to drift in and out of sight. The landscape here and the way clouds and wind and water all come together seems almost to have been scripted for a grand stage, yet each day it is different and always exciting. This is not an indifferent landscape, it seems intent on making an impression, as if it had as its purpose to leave people inspired and awed, never unaffected. It is a passionate land and I can’t help but feel passionate towards it. Black and white photography has given me a way to express that passion. Technique: Landscape Photography All images were made with 6 x 7 cm and 4 x 5 formats. I use several different films depending on the format as well as the subject. Most often I shoot Kodak T-Max and Agfapan films as well as some Ilford. Plus and minus developments along with the occasional use of PMK Pyro developer are all part of my common processes. All prints were made on a condenser enlarger using variable contrast, fiber-based papers. I have begun making Masks for some of my prints. In addition to the common unsharp masks, I occaisionally make highlight masks, and shadow contrast increase masks. This technique has allowed me much more control over the tonal range in my prints and has made printing difficult negatives easier as well as giving my prints that little extra something that we all strive for. Additional darkroom techniques such as split contrast printing and selective bleaching are used on some images for local contrast control. All prints are selenium toned for archival permanence. They are mounted and matted with 100% museum rag. Urban Landscapes Although I am primarily a traditional wilderness landscape photographer, my second love is the urban landscape. I am interested in images that have a twist to them. I am not interested in images that are a simple documentation of a place in time. I want to create images that have a sense of mystery or irony, images that offer something hidden, a message or a story if you will. I hope the viewer will look at each image and wonder how it came about and will ponder the symbolism present in each scene. The Consequences of the Threat of Patriotism Series This group of images symbolize a dilemma we all face when one group of people uses the call of patriotism as a threat against those who express dissent. I am speaking of the “You’re either with us or you’re against us” ideology. For instance, those who speak out against war risk being accused of not supporting troops. Broadly unpopular policies pursued in the name of patriotism, both historic and recent, corrupt and degrade the image of what our flag symbolizes, not only at home but abroad. The attitude of “My country, right or wrong” places a threatening barrier between many groups of Americans who may otherwise share common goals and aspirations for their country. Since it is the most common symbol of patriotism, I used the flag and placed it in different visual contexts to express how patriotism, when used as a threat, can corrupt the symbol of our flag, and could come to represent something entirely different than what it should. Using 4 x 5 Polaroid materials, I drew upon themes of possession, confinement, separation, danger and intimidation to highlight this concept. In developing these themes I consciously tried to avoid “shock value” in my images. It was not my intent to offend, but to tread a balance of making images that would evoke thought from all political persuasions. Patriotism does not equal blind obedience. It should never be used as a club to beat down those who have an opinion different from that of the masses. True Patriots speak out for what they believe in, they stand up against what they believe is wrong. To use patriotism as a threat against those who dissent can have severe, unwanted and unintended consequences. One of those consequences is that we all become less free. As the old saying goes, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” If you have any comments or other questions about my process or techniques, or questions about the places in the photos or if you have any other questions, please e-mail me.
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