I was born and raised in New York City. I graduated from The Brearley School and attended Syracuse University and Hunter College. In 1971, I moved to Los Angeles where I worked 9 to 5, mostly in the entertainment industry.
My photographic career began in the 70s when I was working for Michael Childers as his Studio Manager. One day Michael asked me if I wanted to buy a camera, a Leica CL. I did, for $80. I took a photography course at Fairfax High and was soon hanging out in the darkroom. I discovered then that I love to print.
I also worked for several years for Lou Stoumen from whom I learned a great deal about printing. We spent many hours in his darkroom making black and white magic and listening to talk radio. At home I rinky-dinked a darkroom, washed prints in my bathtub or kitchen sink and hung them to dry on window screens attached to hooks in my ceiling.
During the 70s and early 80s I roamed the streets, department stores, markets and public gatherings of L.A I entered competitions and was chosen to be in several publications and shows. In 1983, I stopped shooting, got married and went shopping. My Leica sat in a drawer for the next 15 years. In early 1998, at my husband's urging, I brought the Leica out of the drawer, built a darkroom, and I've been shooting and printing ever since.
I still hang out in malls, markets and places where large groups of people tend to gather. I take my camera with me every day, shooting "from the hip" because I don't want people to be aware of me. My camera is small enough and light enough so that I can cup it in my hand, attached to a wrist strap so I don't drop it.
I never studied the art of making pictures in an academic setting, but if there is anyone who has influenced me or defined my work, it is Henri Cartier-Bresson. I, too, search for what he so aptly called "the decisive moment."
I take pictures where the subjects are weirdly but humorously interacting, in moments that amuse me and make me smile when they come up in the developer. Lou Stoumen and I used to talk about what we referred to as "the nun." Lou had a shot of Taos where there was a tiny black figure off to one side, a nun. Without her it would have been a boring shot of Taos, with her it caught your attention.
My photographic project consists of "decisive moments" and "nuns." May they be plentiful.
| 1978 |
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| 1973-1982 |
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Exhibitions |
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2010 |
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2009 |
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2008 2007 |
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| 2006 |
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| 2005 |
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| 2004 |
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| 2003 |
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| 2002 |
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| 2001 |
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| 2000 |
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| 1999 |
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| 1982 |
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| 1980 |
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| 1979 |
The Davidson Gallery, Los Angeles, CA - The Paul L. Schaeffer Memorial Photographic Foundation's -
"California Photography 1979 |
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Awards/Publications |
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| 2005 | B&W Magazine - Single Image Awards Annual 2005 |
| 2002 | LEICA VIEW, Spring issue 2002, Leica View Exhibition Hall |
| 1999 |
CANON/PHOTOGRAPHER'S FORUM 19th Annual Spring Photography Contest - SHOTS Magazine, September 1999 issue, "Inanimate Objects" |
| 1982 | LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER/Kodak International Newspaper Snapshot Awards |
| 1980 | LA WEEKLY First Annual Photo Contest |