pstapp222's photostream  

Please don't use any of my images without permission. Contact me, and I'm sure we can work out a suitable arrangement.

I’ve been involved with photography ever since I was a kid living in Central Illinois. Part of the early attraction was all the cool hardware, but soon the excitement of discovering and sharing a personal vision became the greatest draw. Eventually I went away to art school in an attempt to hone that vision. It turned out that the most valuable part of the art school experience was not found in the classroom, but was the opportunity to spend a year in Rome, a place where I have periodically returned and find to be a constant inspiration.

In the 1980s I lived in the Twin Cities, where I began working on photographs of reflections in store windows. The challenge I gave myself was to create unified compositions which included many overlapping elements and a wide field of view.

After a short time in Florida, I moved to Chicago. There I studied Art History, which informed a series of photographs of plants in enclosures that I called “Hortus Conclusus.” During this period I often worked with a 4x5 camera and color negative film. The challenge there was to achieve the offhand, active compositions normally associated with the 35mm, but with the incredible scope of detail provided by the view camera.

During a period when I had small children, I took a hiatus from photography. After several years with unused darkroom equipment stored in my basement in Baltimore, I finally gained enough courage to sell the accumulation of decades and go digital. Now I’m enjoying gathering up old and new photographs to share with you here.