My first camera was a 120 box camera which I got at age 12 by sending two boxtops
and 50 cents to Kelloggs. I took it to the Toledo Zoo on a class trip and photographed
a roll of B&W of the animals - a precursor of what I would still be doing many years later.
Soon after my father gave me my first 35mm - an Argus C-3 - which I still have. It was
the very same camera that he used in China when he worked for the Chrysler Motor
Division as photographer and historian in the theater of the Burma Road at the end of
World War II. When I went off to college he gave me a new Minolta SRT-101.

Today I have an arsenal of Minolta cameras and lenses,
ranging from my trusty old SRT's to X-Series systems
and a variety of Maxxum cameras. Minolta equipment
has served me well over the years - from the burning
sands of Arabia and frozen glaciers of Greenland to the
steaming humidity of African jungles. Neither moisture
and dust, nor severe heat and cold have ever prevented
me from completing assignments.

And over the years Minolta has provided me with
excellent service, generous equipment loans, and
prompt technical support.

We have entered a world of Digital Imaging and I
anticipate exciting new horizons using Minolta's latest
generation of film scanners.
 
The 35mm format has been my preference over
the years since it allows me to comfortably carry
several bodies and a variety of lenses. Advances
in emulsion technology now make it possible to
obtain superb results using this compact and
convenient format. I also own several Nikonos
cameras, lenses and strobes for underwater work,
and occasionally I employ a Mamiya 645 or a
Pentax 6X7 when clients require a larger format.
I use a variety of color slide films for
my color work. Fujichrome Velvia is
my preference when I have the luxury
of using a tripod. I especially like the
color saturation I get when shooting
night scenes. Its extremely fine grain
makes great enlargements possible.
And for fireworks it can't be beat.
Fujichrome Provia 100 is my choice
for general purpose work; if I require
more speed, rating it at ASA 200 still
yields excellent results.

 
Kodak's Kodachrome Professional 25 and
Kodachrome Professional 200 emulsions
are old favorites. The rich saturated colors
and a proven archival performance are
testimony to its popularity. Kodachromes
that I took two decades ago are still as
brilliant as the day they came back from the
lab. Kodachromes that my father shot at the
end of World War II have also retained a
remarkable vitality. I also use Kodak
Ektachrome Lumiere and Ektachrome
Elite for certain situations.

 
Black & White photography has always held
me in its power. There's a commanding
interplay of light and shadow that is rarely
present in color.

While today there isn't much demand for Black
& White in the commercial world, I always
expose a few rolls wherever I travel. I use Delta
100 and Delta 400, made by Ilford. They have
excellent tones and can be processed together
in the same batch.

Working in my darkroom is relaxation and a
form of therapy. And before the digital revolution,
it was the only medium where I could completely
control the results. I use Ilford papers - Ilfospeed
Multigrade RC for general purpose work and MG
Fiber paper for exhibition prints. I process both
film and prints using a variety of Kodak developers.