photo: Becca Bernstein

My first camera was a Kodak Brownie, and I recall making a flash photograph of kids outside at a nighttime party. They appeared as if on a stage: a black background, bright and floating, in the theatrical light of the camera's flash. I didn’t have the words for it then, but I saw the power of a photograph.

At the Rhode Island School of Design, I wanted to become a graphic designer. I graduated wanting to be a photographer.

The New York experience included various studios that photographed food, products, fashion, and beauty, where I learned about lighting and the realities of commercial photography; certainly a valuable education

When it came time to open my own studio, I asked a 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.

Weekends found me hiking in the Catskills and making pictures. Over the years, I pursued multiple careers: gallery owner, commercial photographer, realtor, and Executive Director of The Keshi Foundation in Santa Fe, and I never stopped making images, always in places that interested and inspired me.