I am an amateur and aspring photographer based in Portland, Oregon.

 

I started out shooting 35mm black and white in high school. My biggest influence was a high school teacher, Mike Demkowicz, who taught photography, yearbook, and AP English. He introduced me to the work of Paul Strand (my single favorite photographer), Minor White, Robert Mapplethorpe's pictures of flowers (nothing too risqué), Diane Arbus and Richard Avedon's American West (every page of which is still etched in my memory though it's been years since I last viewed it). These days I'm buying up anything I can find that has Vivian Maier's work in it. I've only recently returned to deliberate photography after 8 years of pointing and shooting (at best) to document nearly every waking moment of my daughter who is now nearly 9. I'm busying trying to find and develop my eye.

 

Digital photography is a whole different world from film. I've benefited greatly from classes that I've taken at the Newspace Center for Photography here in Portland, Oregon (newspacephoto.org/).

 

Books I've found beneficial to learning the craft:

 

~Looking at Photographs, 100 Pictures from the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art by John Szarkowski (brilliant).

 

~How To Read a Photograph, Lessons from Master Photographers by Ian Jeffrey

 

~Ansel Adams: Examples, The Making of 40 Photographs.

 

~On Photography by Susan Sontag

 

~I'm currently struggling my way through and trying to make sense of Camera Lucida by Barthes.

 

Periodicals I Read Regularly

 

LensWork

 

Black+White Photography (UK)

 

Practical Photography (UK)

 

Digital SLR Photography (UK)

 

My favorite gear:

 

~ My camera bag:Kata 3N1-33. It holds my D90, a second lens, a speedlight, my Gary Fong flash adapter, my old 35mm for straight up black and white, and a laptop. It's very well made, has adjustable storage spaces and is extremely durable. Kata has a wide variety of bags but I liked this one because it has the dedicated space for the laptop and is made to fit in aircraft overhead storage compartments.

 

~ For perfect custom white balance every time: Lastolite 18% grey collapsible white balance card.

 

~ For when I need to throw a little light on the subject:

Lastolite Tri-Grip collapsable relector.

 

~ Camera strap: Black Rapid RS Sport 2 Strap. It makes carrying the camera a lot easier and is quite a bit more comfortable than the neck strap that shipped with the camera. Quick raise from slung to shooting position.

 

~ When I want to cast a softer, more diffuse glow from my flash unit: Gary Fong Lightsphere.