My Lens is My Guide!
My father worked in the advertising industry on 42nd Street during the “Mad Men” era. During the summer months when school was out, he would sometimes wake me early and we would take the train together, always riding in the first car so I could look out the front window, from Brooklyn to Grand Central Station. We would walk to his office, holding hands, and once there, I would quickly hop up on a stool, sit at one of his drafting tables, and pick my favorites colored pens and markers to create colorful drawings. On the many bulletin boards and taped to the desk lamps and seemingly everywhere, were photos. Photos from a product line he represented, of people holding those products, storyboards from commercials. Oh what fun I had looking around at all there was to see!
On weekends, my brother, Mom, Dad and I would often hop into their gold 1967 Ford Falcon and head to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, where we would take turns taking pictures. My Dad was an explainer and always very patient. At a very early age, he explained, among other things, how to hold a camera so that my fingers didn’t interfere with the lens, and how to gently press the shutter to limit movement. Since he was often taking photos, my brother and I often got ‘how to’ advice. As a kid, I wasn’t so appreciative, but as an adult, that early advice was priceless.
In high school, I took my first photography class where we developed our own photos in the dark room. Ah, those were the days…cuts from hastily opening film canisters, chemicals, clips and clothes lines. I so enjoyed the process of creating and my interest in photography blossomed.
Like many artists growing up in NYC, the happenings and landscape became a major source of inspiration and such an interesting creative backdrop for my photography. Around every corner were new adventures and surprises, all pulling magnetically on my lens to draw me into creating my next shot.
Since those early days, my travels have taken me to many places around the world, but you’ll see in my work a huge amount of attention to nature from New York (criss-crossing the entire state), with my lens as my guide. Where it goes I follow, and the result you’ll see on these pages. I hope you enjoy the tour!