I've always had an interest in visual communication and art. As a young
boy I wrote and directed stop-action films with the family's 8mm camera.
My mother and father were avid photographers; constantly shooting still
images and 8mm movies. Their enthusiasm for the art directly impacted
my interest in art, documentary photography and visual communication.
I
joined the U.S. Army in 1982. I served 6 years and was honorably discharged.
The last three years of my service I worked as a photographer. In the
military, I learned the power and impact of photography.
In 1989 I enrolled at my local university. I wanted to teach high school art and photography.
By my junior year however, I became very interested in documentary photography
(social photography). I worked for the university
newspaper my senior year and then got a job as a staff photographer
for a local newspaper.
I had the opportunity to work with some very talented photographers
at the paper. They helped me define my style of shooting and taught
me a lot about photojournalism. In 1991, I was introduced to digital
darkroom at the paper.
In
1993 I graduated with a Bachelor of Integrated Studies (B.I.S.) Degree
in Photography, Communication, and Visual Art from Weber State University. In 2007, I graduated from Goddard College with a Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts (M.F.A.) degree with an emphasis in photography.
In 2003, I enrolled in a wet plate Collodion workshop and learned the basics of the process. Since then, I've been working exclusively in the wet plate Collodion process (my personal work) and have developed my own style and methodology for making plates and using it as a new tool for expressing my thoughts, questions and ideas. I make Amrotypes, Tintypes/Ferrotypes and negatives with the process. I also teach workshops and I've published the first full color illustrated manual on the wet plate Collodion process.
Between
1993 and 1999, I owned and operated my own web design company Exponent
Design, Inc. From 1999 to 2002, I taught at the Salt
Lake Community College. I taught traditional photography, digital
arts (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), digital video, web design and multimedia
software.
Currently, I live and work in Germany. I'm working on a new project that's an extension of "Portraits from Madison Avenue" work, but on a larger, more comprehensive scale. I plan to publish and exhibit the work when it's completed in 2009 or 2010. I may also look for employment in higher education (again) after I leave Europe.
I love being with
my family; spending time with my
wife and my daughter. I have a passion for art; creating
it, looking at it, and talking about it. I own a National Resonator Delphi guitar and love to play it when I'm not making photographs. I also enjoy riding Harley-Davidson
motorcycles.
I'm
a film enthusiast and music buff. I am an unabashed fan of the films
of Ethan and Joel Coen especially "Fargo" and "The
Big Lebowski." I was also greatly influenced by Harmony Korine's
haunting independent classic "Gummo" as well "Julien
Donkey-Boy" and three other independent works by Chris Smith
(II), "American
Movie," "American
Job" and his latest, Home
Movie. Errol
Morris is one of my favorite documentary filmmakers. His "Vernon,
Florida" movie is a must see!
My
favorite genres of music are Blues, specifically Delta Blues, I like it very swampy and raw. I also like Jazz, Gospel and Americana. Some of my favorite artits are;
John
Lee Hooker, Robert
Johnson, B.B. King,
Glenn Kaiser,
Blind
Willie Johnson, Johnny
Lang, Kenny Wayne
Shepard, Paul
Thorn, Willie
Nelson, James
McMurtry Beck, Soul Coughing, R.L. Burniside, Cowboy Junkies, The Legendary Porch Pounders, T-Model Ford, Jelly Roll Kings, Fred McDowell, and many more. And, of course, my theme song "The
Mighty Quinn" by Bob Dylan (here's Manfred Mann's video, "The Mighty Quinn").
GROUP SHOWS
2005: Eccles Art Center Main Gallery: State Photographic Exhibition
2005: ARTSTOP OGDEN: The Art of Film
2006: Springville Salon, Springville, Utah
SOLO SHOWS
2006: Art Access, Salt Lake City, Utah
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