ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ARE AVAILABLE ON FIBER OR RC PAPER. SOME CAN BE PRINTED IN CUSTOM SIZES IN LIMITED PRINTINGS. PRICES VARY DEPENDING ON SIZE AND THE PAPER USED.

I am a part-time photographer doing artistic and freelance portrait work. I enjoy 35 mm black & white work, especially street photography. Since 1997, there has been a rebirth in my interest, and I have been pursuing it vigorously. I shoot with a Leica M6 and a Canon A2E.

Below are artist statements for various portfolios:

EPIPHANIES - NEW YORK CITY STREET PHOTOGRAPHY: This portfolio isolates ephemeral moments amidst Manhattan’s frenetic activity.

WORLD TRADE CENTER - BEFORE AND AFTER: Flowing from the destruction of this icon comes a wave of human emotions.

MANNEQUINS: All the photographs were taken from sidewalks looking through windows at storefront mannequins. In June 2000, I had a solo show for the Mannequin portfolio at Talli’s Fine Art Gallery in Manhattan.

KIDS & PETS: A portfolio of impromptu portraits of children and their pets in the parks and streets of Manhattan. The photographs capture the unconditional love between children and their pets.

NIGHT MOVES: These are intimate nighttime portraits of people on the streets of New York City.

MANHATTAN’S MEATPACKING DISTRICT - “THE SALTY UNCLE”: This portfolio tries to capture the feeling of the meatpacking district before it is sanitized into oblivion.

GAY PRIDE PARADES: In late June every year, there are various Gay Pride parades and events.

EPIPHANIES - NEW YORK CITY STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

People pulse through lofty and subterranean passageways of Manhattan as if they are the city’s blood. To the pedestrian, this frenetic activity becomes a blur. In fact, trying to take in all the sights and sounds of the city is overwhelming. However, many of these events are worth capturing. This portfolio isolates some of these ephemeral moments.

The photographs incorporate Henri Cartier-Bresson’s deceptively simple choreography (Fountain)with a spoonful of Gary Winogrand’s brashness (Defiance). The soul of many photographs pays homage to Brassai’s underworld (Pizzeria and Halloween). The result is an attempt to find meaning in what is often a random and seemingly absurd world.

Hidden within the phantasmagoria of the city’s non sequiturs, there waits for us the elusive, ephemeral moments where a precise mood is revealed (Subway Kiss). Be it joy (Cheers) or anger, poverty (Matches) or enlightenment, clarity or confusion, a sudden revelation is made (Wonders). At such a time, the essence of subjects can be penetrated and hidden laws revealed. It is these ephemeral moments when lyricism replaces cacophony (Chairs and Umbrellas). Ultimately, one must decide if these epiphanies allow you to make your own current, or whether Manhattan’s relentless tides control the ebb and flow of life and, ultimately, one’s fate (Brooklyn Bridge and Wall Street Fog).
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WORLD TRADE CENTER: BEFORE AND AFTER {TED album link^^^}

From my rooftop on 22nd St., I had an unobstructed view of the World Trade Center towers. I often used them in the background of rooftop shoots. One evening in 1997, I saw them in fog. I decided to photograph them close up next time there was a foggy evening. I envisioned that it would present a compelling juxtaposition between nature and human creation.

The ultimate result was beyond my expectations and resulted in “Misty Embrace” (WTC Fog 1997). The rigid lines of the imposing towers lyrically melt into the shapeless caress of the fog. This spectacular marriage of a human achievement and natural forces can only happen where human marvels are found in such a grand scale, like New York City.

However, when viewing this photograph after 9/11, the infinite ruggedness of the towers gives way to a foreboding vertigo. Instead of powering to the sky, their foundations seem to be giving way. The individual office lights cease to become abstract designs. Instead, one ponders who might actually have been in the illuminated offices.

In time, however, this photograph will hopefully symbolize an achievement much greater than engineering: the triumph of the human spirit when faced with unthinkable tragedy. These emotions are expressed in some of my street scene photographs taken in the weeks following the disaster.
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MANNEQUINS

Selling hopes of self-esteem to women, fashion clothing stores assault us with one image of femininity -- tall, skinny, young and white -- in carefully crafted window displays. There is no room for diversity. Flashy mannequins seduce window shoppers into thinking that certain clothes will provide them with a more acceptable and more gratifying identity. What results is an emphasis on the outward, physical qualities of the female body. Instead of portraying women in diverse forms, they stand exposed as one-dimensional, caged commodities. While many mannequins appear to have seductive expressions, closer inspection reveals isolated, forlorn feelings (Forlorn).

Using constructivist and surrealist motifs, I transmogrify the mannequins into dynamic yet repulsive forms which in the end reveal the essence of the corruption entailed in the process. Dramatic cropping along with angular and elongated forms are the constructivist element. Surrealism is achieved by dark, shadowy, distorted and blurred subjects (Reclining Mannequin). Impenetrable blacks prevent an emotional footing. Seemingly infinite shades of gray make everyday objects cryptic. The web of lines, textures and tones provoke an enigmatic delirium which seduces yet ultimately and rightfully becomes disturbing (Silhouette).

At all times the photographer, and hence the viewer, is on the outside looking in. Errant reflections and safety grates are reminders of this. Women are locked in, subservient, while men are locked out. There is a tension of simultaneous attraction and repulsion, which the mannequins themselves reflect as they are both frozen yet many have bodies which are dynamically poised in exaggerated motions. The more that false empty standards of beauty are valued, the harder it is for women or men to achieve a state of inner comfort and relief from life’s existential struggle.

Ultimately, mannequins only sing a siren song. Their voices reach below conscious reflection, insidiously striking at insecurities. Most passers-by will not view storefront windows with a deeper reflection of what cultural messages are being stated. The nightmarish effect of this portfolio is intended to force deeper reflection, even into the unconscious, and to make us embrace the sincere expressions of femininity.
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KID & PETS

Kids & Pets explores the concept of unconditional love. From these black and white, two-dimensional planes, a rainbow of profound human expression resonates. The children and their pets cast a luminous spell bewitching the viewer into the pictures. The viewer is engaged by one or more of the relationships in the pictures: the child/pet, the child/viewer and the pet/viewer. Not only does unconditional love spring from the child and pet, it might also bridge from the viewer to the child or viewer to the pet. Or, perhaps the experience becomes a pas de trois.

Sunny, relaxed days in bucolic Manhattan parks were the catalyst to capture this. Freed from small apartments and the dust of everyday life, the children and pets ignited with spontaneity and a joie de vivre (Dalmatian). I found most of the subjects at special events for pets. After asking permission from the children and their parents, I began photographing, usually five to seven shots. An intimate yet ephemeral bond was created in a very public space. Overwhelmingly, children felt flattered being photographed and were often quite eager.

The photographs fall somewhere between street photography and portraiture. While not the candid shots Cartier-Bresson captured of an unaware passerby, the subjects in these photographs were found in the public and expressed emotions as candid as the ones found in Cartier-Bresson’s photographs. Because of the childrens’ genuine expressions and the closeness of the pets, there is a decisive moment feel. Like much of Strand’s street photography, the subjects are without pretense. There is a wholeness to their personality, sensitive yet strong. While the photographs are structured like portraits, they ultimately tend to be quite profound as there is not the heavy hand of conceptual construction.

I entered their world and shared a space with them actually and metaphorically. For adults, this portfolio will hopefully beckon these emotions by stirring fond memories with their childhood pets. However, this experience may be bittersweet as adults will rarely find the depth of unconditional love which they felt as a child. Or, conversely, bittersweet because they never had the experience of unconditional love when they were children.

Aside from the emotional response, viewers will investigate the faces and expressions. Superficially, this will reveal the qualities which define childhood: freckles, braces, missing teeth and the like. On a deeper level, one will observe the variety of emotional gestures which reveal personality. These run from the vulnerable to the intense, as well as the ebullient to the sublime. Of course, close inspection will probably also expose the disturbing, seemingly unanswerable query: why do some people look like their pets? Or, why do some pets resemble their people?
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NIGHT MOVES

This is a portfolio of nighttime portraits along the streets of New York City. They are charged with attention-getting human emotions. The subtext of the portfolio is the city’s yin-yang of infinite expression versus oppressive environments. We each feel these daily without really thinking about these opposing forces.

The person being photographed (the “subject”) is doing two things simultaneously. The first is their “primary” activity, walking along the street, talking with a friend, exiting a door, or sitting in a cafe. The “secondary” activity is their ephemeral, evanescent relationship with the photographer (or, ultimately, the viewer of the picture) who has happened upon the scene. This will be a glance toward the camera or some other acknowledgment of the camera’s presence.

Dark areas of the picture give it a dreamlike, moody quality (Gaze). Blur can be used in pictures to suggest expressive, positive emotion or, to the contrary, someone verging into a frightening void (Grand Central Kiss). Motionlessness against a moving city creates interesting possibilities.

There can be the subtle inclusion of physical symbols. Circles and straight lines represent infinite freedom, while corners and walls represent being trapped.
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MANHATTAN’S MEATPACKING DISTRICT - “THE SALTY UNCLE”

If NYC neighborhoods were given human personalities, the meatpacking district would be known as the Salty Uncle. By day the animal carcasses move in and out, while at night fetishistic crowds prowl the streets and clubs for yet another type of meat. However, these worlds are slowly disappearing as this area gives way to yet another “mallification”. Trendy bars and elite art studios are elbowing the grittier personality out. This portfolio tries to capture the feeling of the meatpacking district before it is sanitized into oblivion.

Expressionism springs from random, witty and ironic markings. Striking compositions done by using grainy film and high contrast prints evoke an emotionally charged energy (Doors). Visual non sequiturs abound and the mind is forced to make connections where none really exist.

While many photographs superficially appear to be benignly documentary, they eventually evoke surrealism’s mysteries (Chainlink) as well as Dada’s nonsensical humor. As exemplified in part by human markings or natural decay, rebellion and subversion are an undercurrent (Garage). Cubism also makes a showing with shadows and rhythmic patterns.

Ultimately, is the entropy of the meatpacking district something to mourn? Are these just barnacles on a rusting tanker ready to be scrapped? Is it a wounded animal with vultures pecking at its flesh? Or, do we cherish the ephemeral marks of nature and people? For now, we can enjoy the yin-yang making these strange bedfellows make.
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GAY PRIDE PARADES

These engaging photographs capture candid (Celebrate) and intimate expressions in the very public setting of Manhattan’s streets. At various Pride events throughout the year, there are a rainbow of expressions, some subdued while many are uninhibited (Lesbian Go-Go Float). These photographs capture the broad range of expressions while exploring the deeper identities behind them (Phoenix).

There is a strong undercurrent of levity (Lipstick) which reflects the spirit of the events. This upbeat mood comes in part from the energy of the gay community as a whole. The mood is further elevated by the warm reception of those outside the gay community. Ultimately, the events foster a time for genuine expression, irreverence and decadence.

The urban experience is one of immediacy and thriving energy. Amongst this frenetic activity, there is an optimistic and democratic feeling which nurtures diversity. For many subjects in the photographs, there is a validation being made when the picture was taken and every time another viewer sees it.

Ultimately, the unique convergence of very intimate expressions in public areas (Angel) makes for irrepressible photographs. There is an honesty in its candidness. This portfolio penetrates the very essence of these events, capturing them in all their vital relevance and beauty.