Upcoming Exhibition

We’re less than one week away (9/17/24) from the reception for the Viewfinder exhibit at the Mildred Dent Fine Art Center on the campus of Spartanburg Day School. It’s truly an honor to have been asked to participate in this show with such talented photographers. I hope that you’ll come out and enjoy the work of some of my favorite local photographers and stop by and say “hello.”

I thought I’d add my bio and artist statement here just to give you an idea of my photography story and the inspiration behind the photos in this show. So here they are, along with a “headshot” used for the exhibit. I hope to see you on Tuesday, 9/17/24 between 5:30 and 7:00!

Artist Biography

Growing up in Spartanburg, I became interested in photography at a young age when I picked up my dad’s Yashica Electro 35, which he’d purchased while in the Air Force. Eventually, he gave me that hand-me-down camera and I started shooting bad photos with it, right away. I continued my on-and-off journey in photography for several years and continued to take bad photos with that camera. Eventually, I bought a newer “fancier” camera and started reading books and magazines about photography, while only realizing modest improvement.

I moved around the southeast a bit throughout my twenties following various creative, educational, and professional pursuits. I always brought my cameras along whenever I moved, but often became frustrated or bored with my photos. Unsatisfied, I started taking photography classes at the local community college while living in Georgetown, SC. My instructor there saw something in my photography and suggested that I apply to become a photographer with a company that he worked for. That company hired me as a photographer and sent me on assignments all over the country shooting special events.

At first, I was excited about travelling and actually making money while using some really nice cameras and equipment, all at the company’s expense, but eventually became bored with the subject matter. I wanted to do something a little more creative than shooting marching band competitions and corporate events.

I’ve dabbled in photography over the years, while also following a different career path and now running my own company. In recent years, I’ve started taking photography a little more seriously, but as a therapeutic break from my daily work.

My subjects are now whatever I want them to be, sometimes it’s not about a subject at all, but about the exercise… and I still pull out the Electro 35 from time to time.

Artist Statement

Over the last year or so, I’ve taken up going on “coffee walks” with a camera in hand. These walks always involve a stop (or start) at a local coffee shop in whatever town my wife, Celia, and I happen to be in.

A walk may be an hour, or several hours, depending on the day. These are most often in Spartanburg, but we do get out of town once in a while. I try to find interest in the mundane things we see every day by emphasizing their shape, texture, lighting, color, or context. These subjects, or scenes, become more apparent and often take on new meaning when we’re not whizzing by them in our cars.

All of the images in this collection are from various coffee walks over the last year. Reviewing each of these images takes me back to where I was on that day, how I felt, and which coffee shop we visited.