“Traveling is the ruin of all happiness! There's no looking at a building after seeing Italy.” ~ Fanny Burney

I try to document more than just the places I travel. I want to create images that weave a story
of my personal encounters with the people, history, and living culture in a way more revealing
and complex than some other travel photography. These images were exposed on two summer
trips in 2006 and 2007. This portfolio is produced from scanned traditional darkroom prints that
have taken more than two years to produce. It is the details and nuances revealed in these
traditional prints along with the hands-on process of making them that are equally important to me.

Historical places, cities and people are captured using a medium format camera and black and white film.
I spend hours in the darkroom printing. Sometimes I choose to sepia tone an image that I feel would
benefit from the warmer hue. These images are filled with subtle tones and revealing details.
Different photographs bring the viewer up close to another person. Often these are presented
head-on, creating a memorable image. Well-known landmarks are all but missing in this portfolio.
Instead, I employed my camera to look beyond the obvious. We encounter a small vision of truth in
what we might have otherwise overlooked. I hope we see the details as more than clearly focused
documents. I want us to look past the stereotypes of Italy and discover what these photographs
can teach us. This is not a sight seeing approach to travel photography. It is a journey of personal
discovery. Searching for images of the “Soul” of Italy, I have found a thread that connects us.
My photographs present a story of how we are all connected to each other.

Darkroom Prints