It was about ten o’clock on a Saturday morning in late 1999. I was still a young man, and I stood on a sidewalk in the SOMA area of San Francisco, watching a bulldozer and a crane tear apart a building I had recently bought.    The cracking of old timbers and the thunderous collapse of the roof brought one thought sharply into focus: What the hell am I doing? I was a photographer, not a developer, contractor, architect, demolition […]

“What do you think we are—animals?!” The inmate was screaming at me, veins bulging, eyes fierce. Around us, prisoners started swarming like bees to a hive. And the assistant warden who was supposed to keep me safe? Gone. Vanished as quickly as a magician’s rabbit.  In that moment, I thought: my first prison photo shoot might also be my last. But let me back up. Years ago, when I was still a student at Art Center, I was taking a […]

There used to be a school in San Francisco dedicated to teaching the flying trapeze. Back when I was healthy, I thought it would be a fun skill to learn. And, if I’m being completely honest, a fit and attractive model convinced me to give it a try.  So I did.  It is definitely not for the faint of heart. The school had a full-sized flying trapeze rig, complete with a massive safety net stretched below. The experienced performers soared […]

It was mid-April. The mornings were still brisk, but the afternoons could become surprisingly hot. Since my first studio had no air conditioning, I often worked late into the evening when the temperature finally dropped. Sometimes I even worked through the entire night. This was one of those times. I endured a marathon work session that stretched through the night, into the following morning, and well into the next warm afternoon. Two days with virtually no sleep. By then, I […]

In the early years of my career, and at several points along the way, I negotiated some remarkably rewarding trade arrangements with clients. One of the most memorable was with a renowned wine shop in Menlo Park: Belltramos. This respected establishment had been serving connoisseurs since 1882, founded by Italian immigrant Giovanni Beltramo. The team there possessed an extraordinary depth of knowledge. They catered to a discerning clientele and offered some of the finest wines in the world. At the […]

When I was but a young lad, I explored nearly every type of art that existed.  Water colors, oil paints, sculpting, poetry, music, performance.  You name it, I wanted to try it. So when I came upon the photography class that was offered in high school, I was eager to try my hand at that. The problem was that it was a very popular course and would fill up each year.  I had to devise a plan that would allow […]

Many years ago, I learned a lesson about photography that has stayed with me ever since.Sometimes the best place to capture a subject is the last place you would ever think to look. Back then, a photographer could actually make a respectable living selling stock images. Better yet, it was an excellent side hustle for someone already working professionally behind the camera. Even after long assignments, I still loved shooting simply for the joy of it. Today, anyone can download […]

This isn’t a story about photography, my career, or the recognizable people I’ve met. It’s a story about life, relationships, enduring friendships, and the quiet strength of family. I was fortunate in my childhood. I grew up in a neighborhood that felt less like a collection of houses and more like a true community. Families knew one another. They trusted one another. They shared values with strong foundations upon which lasting bonds could be built. It was a time when […]

Once I relocated my studio from Palo Alto to San Francisco, the nature and scope of the projects I was given began to evolve. From local assignments for nearby companies,  to opportunities with national and even international clients. The shift was both exciting and affirming, One particularly assignment involved photographing portraits for the New York Opera. As it happened, one of their principal singers was residing in San Francisco at the time, which made the collaboration especially convenient. The shots […]

No one believed me. Not a single soul. Every attempt to share my experiences fell on deaf ears, and I have no reason to expect anyone will believe me now. The only person who eventually came to accept it, on her own terms, and certainly not because of anything I said, was my sister, Julie. Even she was skeptical at first. That changed after one dark evening when she found herself alone in the studio. It was then she witnessed […]