The intent of this portfolio of photographic images is to share with those interested in photography and the wonders of the known world. I have been fortunate enough to travel to distant lands and interesting places over the past six decades. Many of the images were taken before I had access to high quality equipment. Nevertheless I am including many of these images as I feel that they are of archival and anthropological interest, such as endangered cultures where dramatic social changes have occurred. While the quality of some may be degraded, I still believe the content is worthy of sharing.

Over the years I have gone through phases using a twin lens reflex (ikoflex), Nikon 35mm, Hasselblad, and now a series
of digital cameras- as the quality of the output has been improved. Now my camera of choice is the Nikon D80 with an 18 to 200 zoom lens. Occasionally I have used a panorama camera, Widelux.

Over time there have been a number of changes in my artistic taste as to how my images should appear. Originally I shot and printed images directly as the cameras' eye saw them. Then, I had reached a point of being disappointed with my prints, as what came out in the darkroom was not what I had felt at the point of the shutters' click.

Strongly impressed by the work of the early 20th Century photographer, Eugene Atget, I sought to imbue my images with a similar effect. Their grainy feeling gave a sense of time and place. I found that by using a high ASA and developing the film three times that I could achieve that grainy feeling that I really enjoy. On this website there is a gallery called "GRAINY PHOTOGRAPHIC STOCK" that provides an example of this particular phase in my work.

This technique was abandoned following my discovery of Photoshop. It was a revelation to me that there is a tool that could be employed to satisfy an artistic quest. I write of those scenes or places that I view with a heightened sense of emotion. By using the tools of Photoshop I can evolve
(for my taste) what is seen through the lens of the camera, ie an attempt to replicate what I felt at the time of exposure.
This has led me to the creation of a portfolio of my experimentation in this different genre, on the borders of photography, Because of my sidestep from my usual work, I
have labeled these works as PHOTOICONOGRAPHS. Perhaps they reflect my interest in Late 19th Century and Impressionistic Art. A photographic curator from a major museum commented on my photoiconograph say, "as one deviates from the norm, one must walk alone" I hope others will join me on this walk.

To qualify for the use of this label the images from the original can be modified in a limit way. The composition must remain the same, and the basic colors must stay the same. Nothing is to be added, and nothing taken away.
The evolution of the new image involves working with the
separation of the foreground and the background and the use of filters and textures, and adjusting the highlighting of certain features.

There are two galleries of Photoiconographs in this portfolio, one labeled PHOTOICONOGRAPHS, and the other JAPANESE PHOTOICONOGRAPHS. I usually print these works on rice paper.

At the time of this writing, this website is still under development. February 1,2009