INFANT SERIES

Becoming a parent back in 1980 was a bit of a shock. The new obligations and changes to our work schedules put a quick end to my prior ways of working. Just getting out to explore and shoot was difficult. My frustration grew until one day, in an act of desperation and boredom, I turned the camera toward my son. For the first time I saw him as an object of form, instead of a baby to document for the family album.

As the months passed, with my wife’s help as baby wrangler, the body of work grew and I discovered the grace, power and potential in twenty pounds of uninhibited energy. I started showing the work around and had one-person shows and juried exhibitions at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Palm Beach Junior College, Amarillo Art Center, Boston Visual Artists’ Union, Northlight Southwest Exhibition at Arizona State University, Salt Lake Art Center in Utah, Abilene Fine Arts Museum in Texas and Portland Community College’s Northview Gallery.

Ultimately, I got a call from an editor at Time-Life Books. They were preparing the second edition of their book, Photographing Children, from their Library of Photography series, and had heard of my work. I sent them a portfolio and it ended up as a full page in this book. 

But here’s the ironic twist: When I was in high school, I had a subscription to the first edition of this book series. Every couple of months they would send a new title, which I could keep and pay for, or return if I didn’t want it. Out of about a dozen books, the first edition of Photographing Children was the only one I sent back.

Note: The subject of these photographs is now a computer engineer, living and working in Amsterdam.