Photography has a mystery to it that captures the imagination of both the person behind the camera and the people who get to view the results from outside the image making process. Neither particpates without the other. And so communication becomes the true reason for anyone delving into the medium, whether it is used primarily as a means of personal introspection or as a form of mass communication.
When I was working on my degree in Professional Photography at Southern Illinois University in the mid-seventies, Marshall McClullen's philosphy that "the medium is the message" was the prime genitor shaping student work and professional aspirations. We felt we must not only be capable of mastering the technical parameters of photography, but that it was essential to understand how our images conveyed meaning.

It has taken me thirty years to meld my self-directed communication to please both myself and those viewing my work onto the same plateau; and what a journey it has been. These images I have installed as the permanent items on my main website and as the fluid, changing images on this blog, are here to demonstrate what I have achieved and what aspiring new photographers can do with their own vision and energy.

I appreciate that so many of you visit my site to see what new photographs await for your curiosity. Feel free to contact me at any time to chat about what you see and to also share your own work. I have learned many good things about photography through the dialogue and portfolios of others and hope that I can give the same.

When I was in the army I was stationed in Mannheim, Germany from June of 1971 through April of 1972. My passion for photography began there after learning how to process black and white film and make prints in the darkroom in the enlisted men's club. Hans Jurgen-Heider, a German professional photographer, had been hired by the U.S. Army to run the darkroom.

Hans and I became friends and he tutored me in photolab procedures. I have to credit him for being my inspiration to become a professional photographer myself. One of my earliest photos was almost identical to this one of Heidelberg, shot from the north bank of the Necker River.

As part of my ongoing documentary photography of Iowa, I want to share some new color images with you. There is an abandoned farmstead, a 1949 Dodge, a steamtrain and a Goldfinch. I hope you enjoy them.

The grain elevators in rural Iowa are complex architectural entities that once thrived in just about every small town and community. Sadly, they are disappearing due to obsolescence and neglect.

The town of Shellsburg has not only kept this elevator standing but functional. The quality of soft light on the patched walls and conveyor belts makes this an ideal subject for a black and white image.

Rural life with its sense of life from the Earth
and its ultimate route to Eternity finds a sense
of humor and reverence.

Just what are these precocious children
up to?


Hope abides one's final rest.

I photographed Mt. Rushmore in August of 2003 with my 4x5 Tachyhara wood field camera. The journey from my car to the observation plaform with forty pounds of equipment was somewhat arduous but well worth the effort. The reality of the monument in person brought tears to my eyes that the image here can't replicate.