Photography has been my career and has shaped my identity.
I started in commercial photography as a photographic assistant at Promotional Arts Studio in Chicago. After spending a year there, I suffered from what I called “swatch fever”, acquired from spending all day photographing fabric swatches for Sears. Coming to the conclusion that this environment and I were not meant for each other, I left my job and Chicago to explore other alternatives. When I returned, I decided to freelance as a photo assistant.
Specializing in advertising and location photography, I opened my own studio in 1976. Over the years, I have worked for many of the major advertising agencies and corporations. With the arrival of the digital world I integrated art direction, graphic design and print production into my business.
I have photographed people from various professions, from bank presidents to chicken farmers, from heart surgeons to pizza chefs, and from authors like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Studs Turkel to working men and women.
I now spend my time photographing what fascinates me most, the empty urban landscape. I have spent years chronicling early mornings in every part of Chicago. If you are out early on a winter morning and see someone hunched over a camera, dressed for Arctic weather, that is probably me.
No matter where my travels take me, you will find me out searching for what the early morning reveals. Though as fate would have it, I still photograph a swatch every now and then.
I hope you enjoy your visit to see my work.