I became enamored with photography when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I've been at it ever since. I studied seriously in the '70s.
I became hooked on the idea of being able to shoot an image and process it myself, and end up with a product.
I think about myself as like an ocean liner that's been going full speed for a long distance, and the captain pulls the throttle back all the way to 'stop', but the ship doesn't stop immediately. It has its own momentum and it keeps on going, and I'm very flattered that people are still finding me useful.
That's the most difficult issue for me - to find a subject that holds my interest long enough that I'm prepared to go to work and spend the time and energy to shoot the subject.
That's true, because I'm a photographer now.
A neighborhood friend showed me how it was possible to go to a camera shop and pick up chemicals for pennies... literally... and develop your own film and make prints.
I deal with this spiritual issue every day - either shooting or processing or sorting or discussing or having conversations - I'm in constant contact with it.
I became involved in photography when I was about thirteen years old.
I also do my own processing, so it means a big commitment in lab time.
I have a Master's Degree in photography as a fine art, and I would call my work primarily conceptual. I don't carry cameras with me wherever I go. I get an idea of a subject matter I want to deal with and I pull out my cameras.
Most of my images have been done in-studio, under very controlled lighting conditions. There have been a few that have shot in nature, but even then they were shot almost exclusively at night, and again, under controlled lighting conditions.
This time, there have been a lot of interesting discussions about the subject matter, and I've had a good time talking about it. And in some of the cases, I'm not just signing books - I'm showing slides and talking about the work
I certainly don't live in a kosher home although I was raised in a kosher environment.
My memory of those places is better than my pictures. That's why I get much more satisfaction out of shooting thematic work that has to do with an idea that I'm searching for, or searching to express.
