I have operated a camera for as long as I can remember. As soon as I had motor skills, I started hijacking the cameras my parents had - 8mm movie camera, various Polaroids, Instamatics as well as high end ones, such as a vintage Leica Rangefinder, that I broke when I was in kindergarten. Cinematographers and rock n roll photographers were my heroes, and I am influenced equally by both distinctive crafts. Ever since high school, if I could let my camera do the talking, it did. I started submitting short films in lieu of term papers in high school, and found my professional calling to be one where the pictures tell the story, whether they are moving or still.
When I was in college (UCLA - 1975-1979), punk rock exploded all around me. It was a natural subject, and what makes up the majority of my work and archive. Some of the most enduring punk rock images from Los Angeles's Golden Age of Punk Rock, the ones 'kids' these days are familiar with --- they're mine: a murky print of The Germs practicing in Pat Smear's garage on the cover of their single, 'Forming,' - mine; Stiv Bators' only solo album, 'Disconnected,' - everything but the front cover - mine. I continue to do record covers, and in the past few years, both old school and upcoming rockers come to me for their album art: Mary Weiss (The Shangri Las), The Alarm Clocks, The Bamboo Kids, King Khan & BBQ, Demons Claws, Jake Brennan...
Since 2004, I've been taking the vintage punk rock photos on tour across the USA under the 'Punk Turns 30' banner and maintain a photo blog of the same name. I've done 10 solo and 4 group shows with these punk pictures since September 2004. I do more than punk rock; punk rock is my archive, music is a constant, and the whimsical juxtapositions I see on the streets, in nature and through my astigmatic focusing eye make up the rest of my oeuvre.
