FAQ

Q: Did you create Willows Avenue #7 using Photoshop? 
A: No! Willows Avenues, was taken in 1986 - when Photoshop was just a sparkle in its creator's eye. It was taken with my film camera, my beloved Nikon F3, using real film. I was living in an old building in West Philadelphia that had these wonderful huge old leaded glass windows: hence the fascinating distortions. I have several other images of street scenes taken through that window, and these will be offered as prints in the near future. By the way, when I moved, I wanted to take at least one of those old windows with me, but the real estate agent said, "No way." What a loss!

Q: How much do you use Photoshop and other digital manipulations in your images?
A: Very Little.  All of the images that are on the website at the moment were taken with film. I scan the negatives and only do those steps that I would have done in a traditional darkroom. There are a few things that one just cannot do in a darkroom, and I use those sparingly.
As far as more "extensive" type procedures: For example, in the "Kitty In Salem, NJ" picture, I guess I could use Photoshop to "Clone Out" the stick in front of the cat's ear, but … well, it's there. It stays there! 
(FYI: I call it "Kitty" as a sort of a joke. That's no Kitty! That's a CAT.) 

Q: “WHAT IS IT?” is what folks invariably ask when they see the abstract images.
A: I always say> It's whatever you want it to be. If I were to say, oh, its mud or something specific, it can never be anything else. Not knowing allows your imagination to take hold, and there are no boundaries as to what it can be. It's more fun that way, more mysterious and engaging.

Q: Why do you do only Black and White? Do you have something against color?
A: Oh, no. In fact, I have many color slides, and some of these images will be available in the future. I do find that because it is such an overwhelming experience, Color can be very distracting to the fundamental power of an image.  To quote Rich Bergeman of the Mid Valley Photo Arts Guild: "Color is such a primary graphic element that is can easily overshadow other graphic delights in a carefully crafted composition." 
In the final analysis, though, I must say that my favorite images are in Black and White. 

Q: Will you have other images available as greeting cards?
A: Yes. I have about 16 million B&W negatives and color slides to choose from for future card sets. 
I also want to do a series of images from the Saraga Family Archives. My father is an excellent photographer, and took some great images of my family when we were growing up. The picture of us in the kiddy pool that is in the BIO section is one of those pictures. He also took many beautiful photographs documenting his life in the Navy when he was stationed in Hawaii during World War II. They are worth sharing.