Greetings, for those who would like to know me better let me offer this brief bio.
I grew up on the mean streets of Milwaukee Wisconsin during the 60s. (As a child I listened to the Beatles and Elvis, cheered the Packers, Brewers and Bucks. Lived through the race riots, and watched our first moon landing live.) I loved tree climbing, science fiction, and various sports. Including swimming, basketball, football, karate, darts and shooting pool. (All of which I did, and still like to do when my health permits.) I barely gradually Jean Nicolet High School, due to lack of interest.
I began work at age twelve as a paperboy, at sixteen I worked as bus boy, dishwasher and cook. At seventeen, I worked in factories, at eighteen, I worked as display designer and installer for various companies and stores. At age twenty, I joined the US Navy Submarine Service. The closest I would ever get to work as an astronaut on a spaceship, nuclear submarines and starships have a lot more in common then space shuttles and Starships. As a boomer sailor, I got to see the world visiting various ports, I met exotic people, saw strange creatures of the sea, and heard the songs of whales awhile traveling where few men have gone before. (Like through the Bermuda Triangle, and beneath frozen ice above the artic circle.) I served in the Navy for about 15 years until my back gave out. (Broken in 4 places.) Disabled, I reluctantly left the service and went to college.
I graduated on the Dean's List and with honors from both Olympic College, and Western University. Earning AA&S, and BA. My goal was to go on and earn a Master's degree in Psychology, but my internships taunt me that people with mental health disorders, never get better, and usually get worse. There seemed to be very little job satisfaction in that for me. So I turned to the thing I love most. Fantasy Role-Playing. For the last 15 years I have been writing books, (Riddles, Magic Items, Stories, Epic Poems) creating map sets and game supplements. (Since the art of tabletop role-playing seems to be slowly dying out I have decided to try my hand at professional photography, but doing it my way.)
I should point out, I am a disabled veteran. Disabled enough to qualify for a substantial pension and full lifetime medical coverage. (Including free drugs!) The injury to my back causes me problems, I can neither stand, sit or sleep for prolonged periods of time on daily basis, and my range of motion is somewhat limited. (Making most normal 9-5 day-in-day-out jobs impossible for me.) In addition, I occasionally have bouts of depression and/or anxiety bordering on PTSD, which I deal with in various ways on a case-by-case basis. Despite my disabilities, I find I got just enough stamina to shoot models for 6-8 hours for one day, maybe two. (With enough rest and therapy in between shoots.) Then take a break for a few days, eventually processing photos as I am able without overdoing my sit-time the following week or two. So photography is something I can do… and hopefully someday make a fair living at it.
My current interests include photography (Obviously), Gourment cooking and wine tasting. Fantasy Role-Playing games. (Table-top and computer.) Fantasy/Science fiction books and movies and limited walking, biking, swimming and dancing for exorcise. I have an eclectic taste in music ranging for all types of Rock, to Blues, to classical, to opera to Fantasy Folk. I have a wide range of friends from a variety of social circles with whom I eat, drink, game and party wih upon occasion. In general I consider myself a renaissance man. A Jack-of-all-trades, yet master of none. Well, actually I am Master Chess Player (2250), a Grand Master Archer (103 aveage), and a Dungeon Master. (32 years) ;)
As far as relationships are concerned, I was once married and have had three long relationships in my life. (They did not take, but I remain friends with most of my past mates, and see them occasionally.) I have had several shorter relationships before and since, but am currently a confirmed bachelor and happy with that. (I enjoy living alone, and having the freedom to do what I want, whenever I want. I don't plan to ever get seriously involved with someone again, but if the right woman comes along I wouldn't rule it out either.)
About my Photography
My current work as of May 2012 is as you see it at this site.
As I write this, I have been involved in photography for about 2 years. I have about 8 group shoots and 10 private (One on one, or one on two) shoots under my belt. I consider myself a student at this point. (Perhaps a junior in college.) Photography can be as easy as snapping a shot with a cell phone, and many people can get good results doing that every now and then. (As can I occasinally.) But for me, good professional level photography is a complex art form, and it may take me the rest of my life to master it. There is much to learn from the simple logistics of taking shot, (Camera settings, light, shadow, focus, motion, sets, props and properly posing single and multiple models, with proper expressions in a ways that make them look really awesome.) to the photo editing and/or creative processing of each photo. (Cropping, sharpening, softening, masking, coloring, smoothing, removing blemishes, adding backgrounds and context, etc, etc…)
There are lots of different ways to take photos, some photographers focus on the perfect shot. they click it, print it, and their done. (As I try to do sometimes.) But rather then spending valuable minutes getting the model in just the right pose before I snap the picture, I generally like to take lots and lots of shots, under a variety of lighning conditions, thus capturing the model in wide varity of marginally different poses with different expressions. This process leaves me with lots of images to look through of which I pick only the top five precent to crop/photoshop and eventually present. (I am currently taking around 500-800 shots per hour.) Because of my method, as a general rule, I don't like to show models anything but my finished shots. As seen throughout my photo gallery, as often as not I will eventually add backgrounds and photoshop pictures to give them a greater fantay/scifi context. I have been known to go back months and even years to redo old shots as my photo processing skills, equipment/software and background image collection imporves. (It all takes time and money and their really is a steep learning curve to climb, but I am on the path.) I should note that all pictures I present as finished limited edition prints are final, as perfect as they can be and I will never redo them. Those presented as jpegs and in electronic format photo collections I may go back and adjust if I feel I can do them better.
My work is currently featured here at this website, on RPGnow, and Artist Rising websites, also at various art shows and scifi/fantasy/comic conventions, plus as covers for a variety of SSD game book and modules. I hope to eventually have my prints in galleries across the world, and enter my images in contests and perhaps have them featured in magazines like "Heavy Metal," or possibly as covers for Science Fiction/Fantasy books, if not in actual "photography" magazines.
I have recently purchase CS5 extended, and few other new photo editors, plus upgraded my computer system to something most geeks might envy. In addition, I have upgraded to a sharper lens, and I am in the process of building an IR camera. Once I learn how to use it all, I expect the quality and creativity of my work to raise a level or two.) Still, as my work currently is, all of my friends, most of my models, and some of my peer photographers think my work shows promise. I seem to be getting more and more invitations from people to shoot them, so I must be doing something right. Personally, I suspect the stuff I am currently showing will be known as my early work, and that my best images are yet to come.
Okay enough said for now, thank you for taking the time to check out my bio.
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