The struggle for fulfillment is the theme of all my best work. 

I just copied that sentence directly out of the January 1964 issue of Playboy Magazine wherein an aging Pablo Picasso puts forth his credo of creativity.  I don't like that I stole his line but I couldn’t help myself. When my work works, that is its theme.

I don’t worship cameras.  I have by far the most out of date and unkempt gear of any photographer I’ve ever known.  The camera is a tool that helps me communicate.  I'm scatter-brained and I’m a mumbler.  I talk before I think.

I don't edit my thoughts that well when I'm talking, and I certainly don't when I'm photographing.  Words leave my lips and I forget them if nobody laughs but the photos stick around and eventually, I edit them. I edit and edit and edit and edit. I let them sit them around, and then I start again.  It's a strenuous process, but I believe in it.  You need to turn your brain off if you want to shoot well.  The same is true for sex. 

Assessment should only come upon recollection.

Bowling Green, Kentucky

10/25/11 10:09 PM CST