photo: Becca Bernstein

Photo: Becca Bernard

My first camera was a Kodak Brownie. I still remember making a flash photograph of kids outside at a nighttime party. The background went completely black, and the figures appeared as if on a stage—bright, floating, and strangely theatrical. I didn’t have the words for it then, but I was learning what a photograph can do.

I attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with the intention of becoming a graphic designer. I graduated wanting to be a photographer.

I worked in New York in a range of commercial studios; photographing food, products, fashion, and beauty, where I learned lighting and the realities of producing images for clients.

When it came time to open my own studio, a mentor asked the most important question: “How many pictures do you make for yourself?” The answer was very few. I decided to keep photography for myself and earn a living in other ways.

In 1969, I wanted to photograph environmental degradation across all 50 states. Instead, I became Executive Director of Citizens for Clean Air in New York, and ecology moved from an idea to a dedicated daily involvement.

On weekends, I left the city to walk in the Catskills and make pictures. Over the years, I’ve had several careers: gallery owner, commercial photographer, realtor, and Executive Director of The Keshi Foundation in Santa Fe; always in places that interested me and inspired me visually.