March 21 – April 2, 1980
When it comes to talking about photography there’s a fine line between sounding arrogant and sounding stupid that I’ve never been able to walk. Some people talk and write about it reasonably well, so I leave it to them, knowing that whatever big ideas I’ve had in the past just got in my way.
I try to keep an open mind, to photograph every day, and to let my eyes and the camera do the work. I prefer not to look at my photos the same day I take them, although sometimes my enthusiasm gets the better of me.
The recent photos shown here were taken within a mile of my home in Olympia, WA, where I walk nearly every night. My interest in night photography is fueled by an enduring fascination with still photographs and film noir of the Thirties, Forties, and Fifties, an appreciation of how things look different at night, and my need to be more active as I grow older.
While I began photographing on film fifty-three years ago and retain an affection for it, advances in digital photography have proven helpful to me and I am grateful for them.
I was born in St. Paul, MN in 1951 and began to take photographs when I was stationed in Korea in the early 1970s. When I got out of the Army I worked as a photographer on and off, doing whatever jobs came my way. While it was fun at times and paid the bills, after years of doing paid work the joy went out of it. These days I photograph for myself. I also write fiction, which is time consuming and competes for my attention. At one time I tried to abandon photography to concentrate on writing, but I just couldn’t do it.