I fell under the spell of this “artistic technology” early. In high school I learned on a Speed Graphic, shooting the gamut from sports to department-store fashion ads.

In the public library, discovering Weston, Adams and European fine-art photographers, I began to get an idea about how one photo can be fine art and another can’t. It’s a matter of inspiration, intent, desire, and effort.

In college I shot for the yearbook, learning human interest and enough darkroom work to win a part-time photographer job on the last Coast Guard freighter, sailing the West Pacific. That experience was priceless.

At the University of Michigan I studied with Professor Phil Davis, whose photography manual was the choice of many pros. He challenged me to go beyond my previous experience. I loved it.

On a 1980 independent photo tour of Scotland with an Olympus OM-1, I took along the 4 x 5. My 1992 and 2004 photos of England are all 35mm.