I graduated from the University of WI. STOUT in FINE ART in 1972. While studying at Stout, Black and White photography was offered through the art department as part of the art curriculum. It was also during this semester that I had the rare opportunity to study with Ansel Adams as he was a guest of the photography department for a weeklong workshop. The effect Ansel Adams has had on photography is legendary and the time I spent on his field trips and in the classroom were of great influence. I have been involved with the photographic medium for the past 50 years in one form or another. Although the majority of my work is with black and white, I use color to define some aspects of my work. The power and emotion contained in my Black & White images are arrived at through the traditional use of composition and tonal values. However, I do like to experiment with allowing the viewer into the image to explore their own philosophy of art. This is usually arrived at through the use of abstract subject matter and Zen philosophy in some of my images. My current collection of photographic tools includes a CAMBO 8x10 monorail, A LINHOF Color Carden 4x5 monorail, a Nikon 800e digital SLR. My current darkroom enlarger is a Saunders / LPL Super Dichroic 4599-II. I proof and print my digital images on an EPSON Sure Color 900 printer. I use several Epson papers for printing but my favorite is Epson Legacy Baryta II. A paper that was inspired by the original F/64 group. Legacy Baryta II has the look and feel of an air-dried silver halide F-surface darkroom paper without the use of OBAs (optical brighteners). The art is in the eye and heart of the artist not the tool or mechanism. The final image is what counts, not the articles of its representation.