Flight Portfolio
There is some realm where feelings become birds and dark sky, and spirit is more solid than stone. John Gardner wrote these powerful words in his short story, Redemption. His descriptive thoughts express the metaphors surrounding the fear and peace that I am exploring in the Flight portfolio.
Withinsight Portfolio
Long before I was diagnosed and treated for cancer, my photographs hinted toward mystery and irony within relationships. After the experience, these themes became central to my image making. I call this portfolio Withinsight because of the implied double meaning. "Within sight" refers to the familiar subjects that surround my physical and emotional space, and "with insight" suggests the vision that comes from memories and the knowledge gained after a personal crisis. The Diana camera, with its lack of control has become the perfect tool for this metaphor.
I am a documentary style photographer focusing my cameras on the spirit that ties people to their land, gardens, homes, families, and past. For over twenty years my work has taken me to Europe, the Middle East, Central America, and many parts of the United States. Ever since I settled my roots and studio in the Southwest, I have grown as an artist by collaborating with others, especially writers, folklorists, and historians. Recently, I have become interested in subjects that are closer to my home and heart.
In addition to making photographs, I offer a series of lectures about historic and contemporary photography of the Southwest through the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities. Not surprisingly, the roster of photographers who have done major work in the region provides a microcosm of the history of photography. In my lectures and slide shows, I bring the image-makers to life by discussing historical topics that surround the photographers’ lives and the work they produced about New Mexico’s ancient civilizations and living tribes, the architecture of Spanish America, and the light of the Southwestern landscape.
All of my photographs begin with negatives that are hand-processed in my studio.
My Withinsight portfolio is made with a Diana and 4 x 5 field camera. With this portfolio I love working in the darkroom as a fine-printer. The prints are developed in a two-bath solution that allows me maximum control in contrast and tonal quality. They are all selenium toned to archival standards.
My Flight portfolio mixes film with the digital palette. I scan my negatives, edit with photoshop and print with archival pigments and papers.
