About Me

No that is not Santa Claus in the photo above. That is me at work. Looks like a good gig doesn’t it? Truth be told, I have a wonderful job. I teach photography, film and first amendment courses at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I have been doing this job for nearly a quarter century. Before that, I taught at Washburn University in Topeka Kansas and Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville Missouri. In between teaching gigs, I have spent a fair amount of  time in school (B.A. in history, and a M.A. in journalism from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in journalism from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale.)

The only passion I have pursued for a longer time than my academic career is photography. I have been working on my photography since I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1971 (stationed at Offutt AFB and Loring AFB). I have worked with everything from a Konica C35 (my first serious camera) up to a 5 x 7 field camera that I restored and used for Ziatype prints. I have been working exclusively with DSLRs and high end ink jet printers for the past several years. From shooting to processing and printing, I always do all of my own work.

For nearly four decades, I have roamed the countryside, looking for fleeting objects and images. I am really drawn to old buildings, back road venues, abandoned landscapes and all things that are near ruin. Many of the items I have photographed over the years no longer exist. The crown jewel of my quest to photograph structures that are near the end of their life came a few years ago when I made an extensive series of shots of my old junior high school building. I am sad that the building no longer exists. Yet I am really pleased with the opportunity I had to document that building before its demise.

As you may note, much of my photography involves everyday items that are basking in a unique form of light. More than anything, I am a light junkie. If the light is right, I will do whatever I can to capture the moment.

When I share my images with others, I am often asked that age old question that nearly every photographer hears, “Did you manipulate the image?” My answer is always the same. While I will make minor adjustments to an image including the subtle tweaking of tones, cropping distracting elements while avoiding as much as possible removing items such as wires from an image, etc., I will not push an image beyond what I believe is an accurate and honest rendering of what is in the frame. My photographs are emotionally accurate. They are honest images of what I saw and felt at the time I captured the image.

My approach to image manipulation has long been influenced by my involvement with the National Press Photographers Association. For nearly 30 years, I have been an active member of this outstanding organization of professional photojournalists and photojournalism educators. I began as a regular member and worked my way up to the NPPA President’s office in 2002-2003. I must note that while not all of my images would meet the NPPA’s ethical standards, my photographs are not intended for news-editorial use. As long as I am making fine art photographs, I believe that all can accept and enjoy them for what they are.

I am also often asked about how I come up with the titles for my images. Most of the time, the words that accompany my photographs just come to me as I work with the images. For nearly twenty years, I have had a burning desire to make fine art photo posters. Over the years, I explored a variety of printing methods, hoping to find one that would let me combine words and images into one document. Finally, with the advent of digital photography, I am now able to make what I like to call fine art posters, documents that combine words and images into one storytelling package.

I like to present my fine art posters in the standard poster sizes (from 11 x 14 to 18 x 24), in a simple metal frame and nothing else. I hate placing glass over any image. I have to be able to look directly into my prints without have to cope with reflections bouncing off of a sheet of glass or a glossy print surface. I have found that my ink-jet printer loaded with pigment inks just thrives with printing on Hahnemuhle’s Bamboo paper. This archival quality fine art paper and pigment inks produce images that really do have a third dimension, a physical depth that I have never seen before in anything that I have used. This warm tone matte surface paper, made from bamboo fibers, is my all-time favorite paper. It is nothing short of spectacular for the images that I love to make.

When I make an image that makes me happy, I need to share it with others. As each individual takes a moment or more to study my work, I am hoping to hear those wonderful words, “absolutely beautiful.” Then, and only then, will I know that I have indeed been successful. My quest is never complete unless and until others can see the beauty in the subject that I saw and can hear the stories that I heard when I was shooting and processing the image. When others see, hear and feel something special when looking at one of my fine art posters, I often hear, ever so faintly, a voice saying, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”