my story: why I do what I do...
I never saw my dad as happy as I did while he was holding his camera. He was a microbiologist during the week, but on weekends and at night, he was My Dad, The Photographer.
I must have been about six or seven years old when he started photographing weddings and working as a journalist for local papers, and many nights I would sit on the counter of the sink in the kitchen while he developed his negatives. After, we would go down into the basement darkroom where he would print his pictures. This was our bonding time, as was his reading to me and teaching me to appreciate the jazz, blues, and rock of his vinyl records.
He bought me a Kodak Instamatic (which I still own and is on display in my family room), which I would use to photograph the Beatles miniatures “in concert” which had decorated my birthday cake, my friends popping wheelies on their bikes, and my next-door neighbor in her nightgown and curlers sweeping off her porch. My dad told me the last one was not my brightest idea, and to cease and desist.
I eventually graduated to a 35 millimeter SLR, and he and I would go out shooting together: everything from neon signs on Route 22 in Springfield, NJ, to buildings in the streets of New York City.
When I grew up, I had a different identity than photographer during the week, much like my dad. First, it was as a radio air personality playing classic rock and roll during the overnight shift in Honolulu, HI, and then doing a love songs show, evenings at WJLK-FM (94.3 The Point) in Asbury Park, NJ. After radio, I was a high school English teacher in New Jersey for 25 years.
Inspired by photographer / documentarian Brandon Stanton and his project "Humans of New York," I bought my first Nikon digital camera in 2014 and began photographing and interviewing the people who walked around downtown Easton, PA, to document their looks and stories. I met so many cool people, literally hundreds, in the process. You can see the project, which I called "Streets of Easton," by clicking here.
I have since put that to an end and replaced it with a portrait business and street photography hobby. I had a solo gallery show of my street photography in January of 2024 at M Galleries, in downtown Washington, NJ. It was a dream come true, and a culmination of lots of hard work. I was also privileged enough to be featured in an interview last year with Inspired Eye Magazine, a publication centered around the work of street photographers from all over the world.
My dad passed away in 2020, but I still feel like he is guiding me every time I focus a lens and click a shutter. Portrait photography, for me, is a labor of love.
I will not be satisfied with your images until you are satisfied with them, so let's work together to freeze moments and make you look as great as you can look.
I have a knack for capturing your essence through my active listening and employment of techniques to calm your photo anxiety .
I would love to make your portrait; please email me today to set up an appointment.
I must have been about six or seven years old when he started photographing weddings and working as a journalist for local papers, and many nights I would sit on the counter of the sink in the kitchen while he developed his negatives. After, we would go down into the basement darkroom where he would print his pictures. This was our bonding time, as was his reading to me and teaching me to appreciate the jazz, blues, and rock of his vinyl records.
He bought me a Kodak Instamatic (which I still own and is on display in my family room), which I would use to photograph the Beatles miniatures “in concert” which had decorated my birthday cake, my friends popping wheelies on their bikes, and my next-door neighbor in her nightgown and curlers sweeping off her porch. My dad told me the last one was not my brightest idea, and to cease and desist.
I eventually graduated to a 35 millimeter SLR, and he and I would go out shooting together: everything from neon signs on Route 22 in Springfield, NJ, to buildings in the streets of New York City.
When I grew up, I had a different identity than photographer during the week, much like my dad. First, it was as a radio air personality playing classic rock and roll during the overnight shift in Honolulu, HI, and then doing a love songs show, evenings at WJLK-FM (94.3 The Point) in Asbury Park, NJ. After radio, I was a high school English teacher in New Jersey for 25 years.
Inspired by photographer / documentarian Brandon Stanton and his project "Humans of New York," I bought my first Nikon digital camera in 2014 and began photographing and interviewing the people who walked around downtown Easton, PA, to document their looks and stories. I met so many cool people, literally hundreds, in the process. You can see the project, which I called "Streets of Easton," by clicking here.
I have since put that to an end and replaced it with a portrait business and street photography hobby. I had a solo gallery show of my street photography in January of 2024 at M Galleries, in downtown Washington, NJ. It was a dream come true, and a culmination of lots of hard work. I was also privileged enough to be featured in an interview last year with Inspired Eye Magazine, a publication centered around the work of street photographers from all over the world.
My dad passed away in 2020, but I still feel like he is guiding me every time I focus a lens and click a shutter. Portrait photography, for me, is a labor of love.
I will not be satisfied with your images until you are satisfied with them, so let's work together to freeze moments and make you look as great as you can look.
I have a knack for capturing your essence through my active listening and employment of techniques to calm your photo anxiety .
I would love to make your portrait; please email me today to set up an appointment.
