My professional photography started in 1983 as a lab technician for Ryke Photo. They had locations in Northland, Oakland and Pontiac Malls in the S. S. Kresge Corporation. the majority of the work was copy work, passport and mounting and framing. the lab was outfitted with a 24 inch Kreonite black and white paper processor and an Image Maker film processor. we used mostly Ilford and Kodak materials for our black and white. We did process color c41 but all printing was sent out. I eventually started work at a Detroit professional photography studio called Elaine Studio of Photography on Outer Drive and Greenfield Rd. Her lab did the black and white by hand and it was exclusively Kodak. printing on Ektalure papers with the occasional RC print. Color printing was on a Kreonite. I eventually ended up back at Ryke photo but was soon sold to Laslo Ragos Photography. This was a commercial lab. printing up to a maximum size of 4x8 ft individual photos with various color processing machinery from dip and dunk c-41, e6 and black and white. The largest photo I ever printed was a multiple panel 4x8 equaling a total of 8 ft by 16 ft. In 1993 with a growing family and a desire for consistent pay and better benefits I moved into the automotive manufacturing business. I continued photographing weddings for several studios including, Belland photography, Robin's Nest Photography, Ann Marie Mannino Photography, Brian Masserman Photography, Studio 1000, Wilson Sarkis Photography as well as myself and others.

Considering myself a better lab technician than a photographer, wedding photography has always been very rich and rewarding for the efforts that I put forth. All my bride and groom clients have been very happy with the work that I've done and the studios that I've worked for have been satisfied. Seeing the shift of Photography going from traditional chemistry-based to digital in the 90s was extremely prophetic. All the professional Labs that I worked with and worked for are now closed and gone. These are no small time labs, but national labs. Tedrick Photo, North American Photo, Color Detroit, Meteor Photo and The Color Network in Canada. I was late too switch to digital photography and I sold all of my medium format equipment when I switched. At the height of my career I photographed 35 wedding as well as worked full time in the cold heading field in auto manufacturing. Had I not changed my fulltime employment when I did, the industry would have changed it for me.