Early Work
Through the main part of my career I was preoccupied with my commercial work, with developing my business and earning a living. I enjoyed developing the skills required of corporate and industrial photography, and while I always employed good composition in my commercial work, aside from my documentary work, I didn’t produce much of what would be considered fine art photography. The images below represent some of the more fine art oriented work of the period.
VALLEY CREEK ICE - Patterns of frozen 'fingers' etched in the ice of the Valley Creek in Valley Forge, PA.
TEXAS SKY - The toll collection building at the Waco Suspension Bridge set against a swirling Texas sky. Built in 1869 and spanning 475 ft., the Waco Suspension Bridge was one of the largest suspension bridges in the world at it's completion. The bridge was the only crossing of the Brazos River, a major obstacle on the burgeoning Chisholm Trail. At 5¢ a head for cattle, the $141,000 cost of construction was quickly recouped.
BLACK AND WHITE BOATS - Contrasting row boats sit at rest at a Rockport, Maine dock.
DECEMBER DESOLATION - Sitting empty against a cold December sky, old Officer's Quarters strike a silent pose at the former Fort Hancock in Sandy Hook, NJ
CURIOUS COWS - Curious cows approach the photographer sitting on a rock in their pasture. Visiting my Grandmother's farm in Central New York one summer, she commented on the curiosity of cows. "Cows... curious?! Na...", I said. "Go, just sit in the pasture, they'll come over to see what you're up to." They did!
JOE GIBBON - Joe Gibbon sits patiently in his cage awaiting the completion of his new habitat at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, PA.
BEACH BOUQUET - Washed ashore on a California beach, seaweed strands form an abstract floral bouquet.
BOATHOUSE ROW - The lights of Philadelphia's famous Boathouse Row reflected in the waters of the Schuylkill River, framed by a leafless Locust tree. The birthplace of competitive rowing in the US, the Schuylkill River has hosted rowing events since about 1835.