Biography
My career in art began by enrolling into photography classes at the University of South Florida in 1973. Upon recieving a BA Degree in Art in 1977 from USF, I moved back to south Florida and worked for a number of photograhic businesses, financially sustaining myself while maintaing my sights on returning to school one day to further my education in the arts. After working at Berkey Film Corporation, American Express Division, Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Color Lab of Florida, Dillon/Reynolds Aerial Photography and freelancing for various clients, I returned to my alma mater in the fall of 1984 to pursue a graduate degree in photography. I received a Masters of Fine Arts from University of South Florida in 1987. I have taught photography as art for the past 30 years at various institutions including Hillsbourgh Community College and International Academy of Design and Technology. I’ve been teaching part-time at University of South Florida, Division for Extended Studies since 1988 and full-time as a Professor and faculty-in charge of photography at St. Petersburg College since 1991. I continue to freelance for various clients and work on my personal work exhibiting when I find time.
Education:
Received BA in Photography from the University of South Florida in 1977 and MFA in Photography from the University of South Florida in 1987.
Teaching Experience:
University of South Florida; HillsbourghCommunity College; International Academy of Design and Technology; St. PetersburgCollege since 1991. I have exhibited throughout the southeast with work in various private and corporate collections and have worked commercially in advertising since 1980.
Teaching Philosophy:
We are familiar with photography as a means for personal and creative expression, as well its use as a tool for collecting and reporting ideas concerning all other human activity. More importantly, however, is its developmental potential both artistically and personally. As an educator, teaching photography both as an art form and technical skill, instruction begins with enthusiasm for the subject and attentiveness towards students’ maturation in art and the field of photography. Students have the opportunity to become visually literate, utilizing a language processed in the photographic medium. By encouraging students to observe how their experiences influence their perception and directions in life, they begin to understand how to visually incorporate a sense of their own personal identity into their images. Recognizing the aesthetics of technological change and embracing the diversity of art, students have the ability to create images expressing and communicating their experiences in relationship to the scheme of things in life.