I like to think that I inherited my interest in photography from my grandfather who was a professional photographer in Pierre, South Dakota. He developed his pictures at night in the basement of the town lumberyard, which he also owned and operated.

Growing up in South Dakota gave me a fondness for open spaces and an appreciation of small towns with decaying relics of livelier times. Corrugated metal, rusty farm equipment, rotten wood, railroads and wind swept prairies appeal to me.

Even after many years living in the Portland, Oregon area, I’m still overwhelmed by the beauty and diversity of the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest and have so many nearby places to discover and photograph.

I have a taste for the overly saturated colors and the melodrama of the 1960s and 70s (I love original Star Trek, Mario Bava, Italian giallo and Japanese New Wave cinema). So, if the colors and emotions of my photos seem exaggerated, that’s one reason why.

I hope you enjoy my photos.

Jim