Biography
I am a second-generation native of Los Angeles and grew up in Laurel Canyon, and currently live in Glassell Park with my long-time partner Nicole and our dog Sassy. I work as a new media artist and am a professor at USC in the school of Cinematic Arts. I first started taking photos while living in Germany over the summer with my father in 1983. I still have many of these photos. There was a small camera shop near our hotel that I wandered into alone. Somehow I was immediately drawn in, and later I convinced my dad to purchase it. I don’t remember how many days that took, but it was a few. I still have many of the photographs that I took on that trip. It was a small black Nikon EM, and I loved it until I found out it was the lower quality Nikon. I sold it in Highschool and bought a black Nikormat from the 60s. I have had several Nikons in my life, with my favorite being an F3 that cost me a small fortune. Currently, I use a Sony A7Rii and shoot mainly with a Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 and the Sony Zeiss FE 50mm f/1.4. I have a few other older Nikon lenses with an adapter.
I try to think of my photographs as mostly just an image that I want to explore and then use what I know to make that happen. Usually, I know Los Angeles, and I use the city as much as possible. I go through bursts of work and often don’t shoot for months. I take pictures of our travels and nature. I generally do not take photos of people and usually like my pictures devoid of people. I typically go out around 4:30 am and drive around with some concept in mind. I am generally home by 8 am.