​Behind the Lens

 

Made in Japan and born in Kentucky, I lived the first 35 years of my life either as an Army Brat or as an Army Officer.  Growing up, I always wanted to be an Architect.  No, not in a pretending, “George Costanza” kind of way but in a more real life, Frank Lloyd Wright way.  While the road to the objective was a long and winding, as the song goes, I did persevere.

 

I graduated with a Master of Architecture Degree from the School of Architecture and Community Design at the University of South Florida.  (Go Bulls!)  I did so, not so much on talent but more on the fact that the senior faculty had thought six years in a four year program was enough.

 

Why Photography?

 

I started taking pictures while I was being all I could be in the military.  I took snap shots of the unique places, funny people and unbelievable experiences afforded me during my assignments made by Uncle Sam.

 

However, it wasn’t until I started studying architecture that I gained an appreciation for and an understanding of composition. Photographic images recorded the details of what made great buildings great.  I used these compositions within compositions to study and enjoy architecture and continue to do so today.

 

I believe photography and architecture are members of the same family of art.  The relationship is not so close as to say they are brother and sister, but if one were to study their common blood, the two art forms could be seen as at least cousins.

 

The two relatives share the principle of composition to express focus, meaning and emotion in their work.  They both rely on the play of light to reveal form.  And like members of a family, they speak the same language of shape, color and perspective.

 

These similarities draw the two disciplines together and for me, moving from one to the other is natural.  I still have a love of all things architecture, but my path now moves toward creating images of people, places and things through light, pose, expression & movement.

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Enjoy.

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Rick