I have worked as a photojournalist and editorial illustration photographer for what I’ll call advocate publications (published by a political-cultural movement of which I have been a part); as a commercial photographer of everything from portraits to architectural interiors; years photographing for a local ballet company; and, of course, for myself. When I began my return to photography, non-professionally, during the course of 2016, after an obligatory total hiatus of about 13 years, my focus was natural light portraits of friends and associates in the movement, on location (typically, their homes). I was determined to leave behind my years of controlled studio set-ups and reliably pleasing, controlled lighting plans. Clearing my thinking process of that entire domain was a task in itself!
I aspire to be making these portraits, along with video interviews I conduct on other occasions, for history; for an audience I will never meet. My immediate audience has two components: one comprises primarily family members whose visual judgement I have come to respect and me. My subjects may or may not like the portraits; so far, no complaints, but I am trying to convey something of the person I know, inclusively in his or her historic role. Some would ask, why in a growing world of many billions of individuals, I imagine this has any historic value. I am confident I know the answer; it’s good enough for me to continue.
The other component comprises the artists I have, as it were, looking over my shoulder—painters, photographers, many long gone, whose work and ideas continue to inspire me. History in the other direction, you could say. They set certain standards for quality that I study, as do those whose writings on art and life create for me an ideal to keep in mind. Though I do not worry about attaining it, I can strive for it.