Herbarium

2018 – ongoing
salt print, nature print, photogram
10″x8″, 8″x10″

Nature Prints – using leaves that I paint with silver nitrate and the press between sheets of salted paper. The leaves are removed and the paper is exposed to UV light until the image appears. Each print is unique. I call this series “Herbarium”

Lumen print after chemical processing, scanning and digital processing

What Remains

2020 – ongoing
digital pigment print, lumen print on silver gelatin or Ilfochrome, photogram
20×24″ edition of 10


What Remains is my next series imagining what will survive after our planet can no longer sustain human life.

Anthropocene

Anthropocene

2019 – Ongoing

Collodion Wet-plate collodion photogram on stone, stand made of welded steel and rock – 3.5″x5″ up to 8″x8″ not including stand

The “Anthropocene” fossils are imaginary records of flora and fauna that might be found in a future geologic era. They are evidence of what was and hints of how it might have been extinguished. Just as the real fossils found by humans fill in the story of what lived and how it died in earlier geologic era, these created fossils are evidence what what might be becoming extinct as a result of human activity.

Borderlands

2014 – Ongoing

Collodion Wet-Plate glass negatives scanned and enlarged, manipulated in Photoshop and digitally printed up to 96″ wide.

Borderlands is an exploration of panoramic landscapes derived from small areas cropped from the edges of contemporary collodion wet-plate images. The hand-made nature of the wet-plate process creates artifacts which appear to be gigantic landscapes but in reality are just inches across.

Gutenberg

2014 – ongoing

3D printed artist books/sculptures of photography and text. PLA resin, digital prints on paper, USB drives, fabric, wood, found objects, pens, pencils, cameras – various sizes 2″x3″ up to 8″x5″ – some are edition 1 of 1 others are in editions of 10

The Gutenberg series of 3D printed books deals with the evolution of books and how knowledge may be distributed in the future. The content of these 3D printed books cannot be accessed – it is sealed inside the PLA resin binding. You must destroy the book to read the book. These books require the viewer/reader to trust the artist – is the content really in there or not? You can see something is inside but you don’t know if it is really as the artist claims. Much of the artwork which is bought and sold requires trust in the artist and the dealer, and these books expand upon that leap of faith.

Ascent

2007 – Ongoing

Installation includes 21 3D printed PLA Resin Sculptures ranging from 13.5″ to 8.5″ tall, 1 Bronze sculpture approx. 16″ tall, 180 14″x11″ Silver Gelatin Photograms

Ascent explores this evolution from today’s analog man to tomorrow’s digital man. As today’s environment of digital interrelationships evolves from history’s analog world man continues to change and adapt. In my Ascent project, I utilize historic analog photographic processes and cutting edge digital modeling technologies to create 3 dimensional digital sculptures from 2 dimensional analog photograms. The technologies evolve similarly to the evolution of man.

Pythagoras

2016

Wet-Plate Collodion on Laser etched Trophy Aluminum (Tintype) 6″x8″ or 6″x6″ or 4.25″x5.5″

After 35 years of making photograms I felt challenged to make something new, but it seemed I had photogrammed every kind of object. I decided to create my own objects to make photograms with – and the best place to start is with simple geometric shapes.  I 3D printed geometric shapes which were placed on the wet tintype and exposed to light. Before making the photogram I laser-etched photographs of the geometric objects onto the aluminum to achieve a layered effect. I was able to produce new imagery of timeless shapes using 19th century analog process combined with 21st century laser etching and 3D printing.

Videos

2013-Ongoing

Timelapse Video

Explorations in time lapse video

Propagation and Maple Seed Collodion

2003

Ilfochrome Photograms (Propagation) and Wet-Plate Collodion photograms on glass (Maple Seeds) Color images are 10″x8″, Black and White are 5.5″x4.25″

Maple Seed and Propagation are photograms of maple seeds. The black and white photograms are made on collodion wet-plate glass negatives. The Propagation series images are made on Ilfochrome paper.

Manual Project

2005-2014

Wet-Plate Collodion, Silver-Gelatin Photograms, Salted Paper Prints, Digital Pigment Prints, 3D printed PLA Resin sculptures, Artist Books, Trade Edition Book, salted paper prints 10″x8″, digital prints 15″x22″ and 40×52″, sculptures up to 5×8″

MANUAL is a collection of portraits of people from diverse backgrounds, occupations, ages, and cultures from around the globe. In each hand portrait is a study of the person’s dominant hand, revealing evidence of how they have lived, who they are, and what they may become. It is a collaboration between photographer and subject to expose their hands and their personalities. Without the distraction of faces, these images become honest and deeply perceptive portraits, reflecting the lifestyle, habits, and sensitivity of each subject.

Photonic Drawing

2012

wet-plate collodion photogram tintypes on trophy aluminum and powder coated titanium 5.5″x4.25″ up to 10″x8″

Using only the most basic elements of photography – light, lenses and silver nitrate – Photonic Drawings are photogram ambrotypes made on either trophy aluminum or on powder coated titanium. Made using the historic wet-plate collodion chemistry on modern substrates, the Photonic Drawings are the simplest interaction of light and lenses and sensitized metal.

Camera Obscura

2003-2005

Digital prints of the Camera Obscura images of New York City

Together Charles Schwartz and Bill Westheimer explored the city of New York on the upper east side of Manhattan using a Camera Obscura. These pictures reveal the city through the unique viewpoint of the camera obscura and record the images digitally. The Camera Obscura’s location is fixed, yet it provides an ever changing view of the city’s activities, architecture and landscape. The images use the pre-photographic camera obscura technology combined with post-photographic digital capture to create a timeless view of New York. The digital camera instantly captures the ephemeral projections in a clear crisp reality that transports the viewer into other worlds.

Elementary

2016

Tintype photograms of 3D printed geometric objects on trophy aluminum – 4.25″x5.5″ up to 8″x10″ tintypes

After 35 years of making photograms I felt challenged to make something new, but it seemed I had photogrammed every kind of object. I decided to create my own objects to make photograms and felt the best place to start is with simple geometric shapes.  I designed geometric shapes in Tinkercad and printed them using a Makerbot Replicator 2 3D printer in a translucent PLA resin. The geometric objects are placed on the wet tintype and exposed to light. I was able to produce new imagery of elementary timeless shapes using 19th century analog process combined with 21st century 3D printing.

Tintype Portrait of Nick

2012

Eleven collodion wet plate portraits made with color anodized aluminum mounted in a carefully spaced overlapping pattern standing off the black velvet background in a 18.5″ x 22.5″ frame

Eleven collodion wet plate portraits made with color anodized aluminum. The strobe light was so bright I didn’t want to photograph innocent subjects who might not be careful enough to avoid looking at the 5000 watt seconds of lights when they flashed. So I used the only subject who I trusted – my assistant Nick.

Tintype Self-Portraits

2012

Thirty 3″x3″ collodion wet-plate self-portrait photographs on color anodized trophy aluminum spaced 1/4″ apart and standing 3/4″ off the black background in a 21″ x 24″ frame.

Thirty collodion wet plate self portraits made with color anodized aluminum. The strobe light was so bright I didn’t want to photograph innocent subjects who might not be careful enough to avoid looking at the 5000 watt seconds of lights when they flashed. So I used the only subject who is patient enough to sit for 30 portraits. The process required 3 days to complete all 30 plates.

Loop

1997

Loop photograms are 20″ x 16″ silver gelatin paper or 10″ x 8″ Ilfochrome paper in an edition of 1. They are also available as digital prints in an edition of 10

The loop photograms were made using a strip of vellum placed on top of the print material and exposed to light. Most of the silver-gelatin photograms were also solarized to create more complex images.

WALD 118

Wald

2006-2010

Pinhole camera 10″x8″ Ilfochrome unique direct prints and 10″x8″ unique direct Silver-Gelatin prints, 25″x20″ digital collage of multiple prints

The inspiration for the Wald Project was to capture the view when awakening from a nap under a tree. Or maybe what one might dream when napping under the tree. These pinhole pictures of the trees Wald explore how the forest stimulates the human imagination evoking emotions from fantasy to fear.

Buggy & Crickets

2001-2011

Buggy is a series of collodion wet-plate photograms on glass or aluminum. Most are 4.24″ x 5.5″

The insects are placed directly on the plate or in the enlarger and projected on the plate.  The cricket photograms were made for the limited edition handmade artist book “Crickets” – a collaboration with Leonard Seastone of Tideline Press.

Elk Mountain Range

1980-2008

Originally photographed in the 1970’s and 80’s, three portfolios of 24 prints were printed in 2008 at 20″x16″ and are titled, signed numbered and dated on the verso.

The Elk Mountain Range portfolio is a series of B&W aerial photographs of the backcountry surrounding Aspen, Colorado. It grew out of a project to create an atlas of photographs to assist the volunteers of Mountain Rescue Aspen in planning rescues of people who experience the dark side of the mountains and also to help helicopter pilots who were unfamiliar with the area to understand the challenges of flying at high elevation in rugged terrain.

Momento

2007-2009

4.25″x5.5″ Collodion Wet-Plate on Glass and Aluminum, 8″x10″ Silver-Gelatin prints, Digital Prints

MOMENTO is a collection of human experiences and the technological dreams triggered by our cameras.  The cameras capture our experience in mere fractions of seconds, but the cameras themselves endure to reflect the technology and aspirations of their eras.  The memories we connect to the cameras are significant, sentimental and cherished. 

Bayonne

2007

Each tintype is unique (edition 1 of 1) Most are 4.25″ x 5.5″

Bayonne is a series of collodion wet-plate tintype photographs of electronic circuit boards that appear to be aerial photographs of industrial sites.

Fern

1981-2019

Cibachrome/Ilfochrome prints 10″x8″ up to 20″x20″ (edition 1 of 1),Wet Plate Collodion glass plates 4″x4″ up to 4.25″x5.5″ (edition 1 of 1) Limited edition salt prints, silver gelatin prints, All are available as limited edition large format archival inkjet prints up to about 60″x40″

Photograms of ferns were among the earliest images made at the beginning of photography. These photograms are made either onto collodion wet-plate glass plates or Cibachrome/Ilfochrome color photographic paper. Mine date from the early 2000’s, not the 1830’s!

Babel

2012

Collodion wet-plate photographs on glass 4.25″ x 5.5″ They are available as limited edition salted paper contact prints or limited edition enlarged archival pigment ink-jet prints up to 40″x60″.

Babel is a series of still life photographs of found objects – mostly rotted wood. 

Believe

1988

Cibachrome/Ilfochrome photograms 20″x24″, Edition of 1, signed titled and dated on verso

Believe is a series of 20″ x 24″ unique Cibachrome photograms. The model was the artist.  The text is a page from the New York Times featuring an article about a modern day Jack the Ripper who was terrorizing London.

Available Light

2004

20″ x 16″ unique silver gelatin photogram prints, edition of 1, 49 images in the series

Available Light photograms are made using the shadow of a book. The title of the book was “Available Light” by Ellen Currie.

Wire Balls

2001-2005

20″x16″ unique silver gelatin photograms, edition of 1
5.5″x4.25″ collodion wet-plate photograms on glass, edition of 1
All images have been scanned and are available as limited edition digital pigment prints.

Photograms of balls of wire exposed directly on silver-gelatin paper or collodion wet-plate glass negatives.

Waterflowers

1982-1983

Cibachrome photogram prints 11″x14″ and larger, sometimes assembled into collages of multiple prints (Waterflower Mosaic series).

Waterflowers is a series of unique photograms on Cibachrome, often presented as diptychs or quadtypchs. The flower petals and leaves are arranged on top of a piece of Cibachrome paper and exposed directly to a powerful light for a very brief exposure.

Clematis

2003-2005

The unique (edition of 1) collodion wet-plate glass negatives are 4.25″x5.5″ and can be contact printed as salted paper prints or silver gelatin prints. All images have been scanned and are available as limited edition digital pigment print enlargements up to 40″x50″.

Clematis is a climbing vine with gorgeous flowers. These photograms are of the flower after the bloom has wilted, lost its petals, and gone to seed. The clematis flowers are placed in the enlarger and projected onto a collodion wet-plate glass plate.

Assemblages

1983-1986

3.25″x3.75″ to 40″ x 48″ collaged Cibachrome prints archivally mounted on museum board. Limited editions. Some of the images have been scanned and are available as limited edition digital pigment prints.

Assemblages are collaged Cibachrome prints. Images captured with analog camera film and printed on Cibachrome were cut and assembled to make an abstract or pattern.

Industrial Mythology

1986-1988

16″x20″ and 20″x24″ Cibachrome photogram prints – 28 prints in the series – edition of 1.

Industrial Mythology is a series of Cibachrome photograms using multiple exposures to combine mechanical and electronic elements with other photogram images

Entropy & T/S/M

1986

20″x24″ Cibachrome photograms – 50 images in the series – edition of 1. All images have been scanned and are also available as limited edition digital pigment prints.
20″x16″ Silver-Gelatin photograms – 10 images in the series – edition of 1. All images have been scanned and are also available as limited edition digital pigment prints.

Oddyssey

1985

Original photographs are 35mm color negatives and all images have been scanned at high resolution and available as enlarged limited edition digital prints.

Billiad

2013

Original digital photos are available as limited edition digital pigment prints

If you could have a world named after you – what would it look like?
The Billiad is about what one man discovers when the dream becomes a reality. When this guy from New Jersey via Cincinnati, Schenectady,  Aspen, and New York City does find his own world, locates his slice of heaven, that place with his very own name, what will the reality be? “Careful what you wish for.” If it really is MY world, would I want it to be like Westheimer Road in Houston, Texas?
The Billiad was my trip to that special place.