“Over the past twenty years I have been working on a series of photographs about the ocean. It is my intention to create as diverse a series of work as possible while holding to the basic theme of the ocean, usually (but not always) in black and white. I have titled this extended series “Through a Liquid Mirror”, however it contains many sub-groups. These groups include images of people within the ocean environment, shipwrecks, aquatic animals, and seascapes. I’ve been particularly fascinated with Akule, fish that form extremely large and coordinated schools, creating amazing shapes. I’ve also photographed aquariums to see what these “other oceans” imply, represent. I have published two books of this work, “Through a Liquid Mirror”, and “Other Oceans”. A third book, “Akule”, is due to be published in the fall of 2009. It is my intention to show the beauty and mystery of the sea, and also encourage further awareness of the fragility of this amazing world, and the present threat to its very existence.”
“In addition to my Ocean work, I have worked on a number of other projects. During the mid-eighties, I documented the Hansens Disease (Leprosy) settlement of Kalaupapa, on the Island of Molokai. This work culminated in a book “Kalaupapa a Portrait”, published in 1989, documenting this historic settlements later days. In recent years I have continued to photograph Kalaupapa as the last patients disappear, and the settlement transforms into a National Historic Park.”
“I have worked on “Kaho’olawe: Na Leo O Kanaloa” a book about the Hawaiian Island of Kaho’olawe with 3 other photographers. The island was taken over by the U.S. military, and used for target practice until recently.”
“While serving as an, Ohio Arts Council artist-in-residence at the Dayton Art Institute, I photographed an extended photo-essay on Hospice of Dayton. I also worked on a series of color images of the Miami River that runs through the city of Dayton.”
“Even though I continue to look for new ideas that inspire me to create a visual dialog on various subjects I find that the ocean work continues to be my primary focus.”
“I was born in Los Angeles, California in 1945. My family moved to Hawaii in 1967 while I was in the Navy. I followed my family to Honolulu in 1968 after I completed my enlistment. I fell in love with the beauty of Hawaii right away, in particular the ocean. It wasn’t long before making photographs of the ocean became a personal obsession. After spending several years on the “mainland”, attending the San Francisco Art Institute and Pratt Institute, I returned to Hawaii with my masters’ degree to teach photography at the University of Hawaii. As a coming home gift to myself, I purchased a Nikonos camera and began a series of underwater photographs of surfers, which led to my extended series of black and white underwater images.”