Depending on the medium of the final image, I shoot either digital or film. If I'm shooting for a magazine or for the web, I'll typically shoot my digital camera. In many cases a digital image is still inferior to a film-based image. However, for magazines or for the web the final image is relatively small and the resolution isn't as important. For obvious reasons, digital is much more convenient in these instances.

When I tackle other projects, I prefer to shoot black and white film. I normally develop my own negatives at home. This is probably my least favorite aspect of the photographic process. It's time consuming and more technical than creative. I use a variety of developers depending on the film and subject matter. My main developers are HC110, Afga Rodinal, and PYRO PMK. When I shoot slides, they go straight to the local pro lab. There are strict tolerances involved with the E6 (slide development) process. In terms of creative control, there isn't a lot of room there either. So it makes since to let the slide pros handle it.

I print all my own black and white work in my darkroom. I have two enlargers - one equipped with a cold-light head and the other with a condenser head. I use double-weight variable contrast papers. I follow archival standards and selenium tone for longevity and to create a slight shift towards blue-black. In terms of my color work, I print my own cibachromes (a.k.a Ilfochrome Classic) when I know it's going to go behind glass and on the wall. If someone wants a small color print, and I know it's not going to be widely displayed, I'll let the pro lab print it.

I also handle all of the finish work involved in the print making process. I use a drymount press for my black and white work. I also cut all my own mats. I buy all my frames 'chopped to length' and put them together in my workshop.

Working in the darkroom is probably my favorite aspect of the photographic process. It's a slow and deliberate process which can be frustrating at times. Usually my mood is evident in the resulting images. Therefore, I don't venture into the darkroom unless I'm prepared to spend a good 4-6 hours printing. Obviously a lack of time is the biggest problem.

I built this website myself. I enjoy this process as well. However, it is also somewhat slow and time consuming. I make it a point to only display the images I have printed and am satisfied with the result (this does not include the action photos). The flaw in this logic is that some negatives print well but don't scan well and vice versa. I avoid digital manipulation prior to posting on the website. I do use photoshop to adjust contrast and brightness to emulate the finished print. I edit out all scanned images that I can't reproduce in the darkroom. Therefore the body of work displayed on the web is small and grows slowly. My scanning skills are improving, however. Hopefully more of my best images that I've had trouble scanning in the past will soon be available.

Finally, a lot of the images displayed here are for sale. They are either available matted only, or matted and framed. Some are also available digitally for ads or magazine articles. Click on the 'shopping cart' button to read about purchasing images. Thanks for looking and feel free to send me questions or comments. My contact information is available in the 'contact' section.