Photography has been a life-long passion. In college, I majored in Oceanography, another life-long passion, and minored in Visual Communication. As a career, I was an oceanographer & computer programmer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California from 1981-2020. The majority of my photography during this time was documenting people conducting research on oceanographic cruises. When not at-sea, I mainly enjoyed travel photography & photographing family events.

After retiring in early 2020, I started to pursue my photography more earnestly. I’ve always been a ‘generalist’, photographing a wide variety of subjects & interests, especially as a tourist. Since retiring, travel photography is still my main interest but I’m trying to do more than just take snapshots to document our travels. Although another influence driving my photography is photo-journaling our RV ownership and travels.
I still enjoy street photography but my main interests are primarily landscape and wildlife photography. This may have more to do with the recent pandemic & how/where we like to travel – by RV to National Parks, and what we like to do – hike.

‘Chasing the light’, as many serious photographers endeavor to do, can elevate a snapshot to something more. So that is my current pursuit – to elevate my snapshots into something more. I’ve always understood the importance of light to a photographic subject but I rarely took the time to wait for it. Or plan my outings with light/time-of-day & weather/atmosphere as a motivation.
One reason I’ve always enjoyed photography, is the science involved in understanding the relationship of light. shadows, and shapes. The camera is a great tool for a technical person with creative aspirations. Image compostion, exposure, optics, color science, & post-processing appeal to the scientist in me. The elusiveness of light &/or subject adds to the challenge. When you make a photo that captures a visual idea, an elusive subject, a spectaular vista or moment. That satisfies the creative spirit and for a photographer, that results in ikigai.