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"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this." ~ Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Wichasha Wakan |
I am the Founder, Creator, and Publisher of ICM Photography Magazine (ICMPhotoMag)...a first-of-its-kind e-magazine solely featuring ICM images, articles, reviews, interviews, tips, and tutorials, by ICM photographers and artists around the world, in a quarterly feature packed digital format.
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| Early Landscape Images from Southern California in the late 1990s | ||
My photographic journey began nearly 30 years ago when I bought my first film SLR camera and began creating traditional images of the spectacular sunsets over the East China Sea. From there, I moved on to immersing myself with the camera in the desert landscapes of Southern California before another move brought me to the US Midwest. However, my creative journey to where I am today has seen many ups and downs and has not been a straight trajectory, with long periods where creativity was not something I was able to focus on or give full attention to along the way. Art, creativity, and an inner connection have always been at the core of who I am, though, so in 2015, when I found myself at a crossroad, I took the road back to my core truth, which ultimately led me to reconnect with my passion for art, my inner creative being, and my love for landscape photography...which initially led me to photographing the Irish landscape.
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| A Few Favorite Images from Ireland (2015-2017) | |||
After traveling to Ireland many times from 2015-2017 to immerse myself in the landscape and to preserve my visions of the land with my camera, returning home to the US Midwest always left me feeling less connected to the land of my home surroundings, and that is when I turned to ICM. The idea of Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) inspired me to think outside the box, to get out into the landscape where I am, and to create my own unique visions of the natural world right where I am.
I am self-taught with both traditional forms of photography, as well as ICM (intentional camera movement), Multiple Exposure, and creative photography techniques. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree and graduate work in English Literature, and I have a strong emotional connection to the natural world with a deep passion for capturing the fluid nature of landscapes through imagery and the written word. I bring an inter-connected and intuitive approach to my photography-as-art to create not just frozen moments in time, but to visually express the essence of light, color, form, line, and texture. Because of this deep philosophy of connectedness with all things, my personal vision is one that integrates creativity in the field with ethical behavior toward the natural environment.
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| Early ICM Work (2017-2018) |
The beauty of life for me is that we can look out through the lens of our physical eyes and see a clear, focused vision of the world around us, but we can also look out through the lens of our inner eyes and see more abstract impressions and blurred lines that are unique to each of us in individual ways, in much the same way literature has the power to elicit these same kinds of individual responses.
This altered vision of the world connects us more naturally to the environment and to each other as we begin to see how all life flows together into the same energetic stream. My desire is to create abstract expressions that speak to the fluid nature of this energetic stream and which compel viewers to make more meaningful connections in their own lives.
Since 2017, I've been solely devoted to first ICM work and then moving on to embrace additional forms of creative photography to continue expanding and evolving my artistry. I have a strong desire to build a larger community around ICM and creative photography techniques...one that will also help give exposure to other photographers who have been dedicated to perfecting their own ICM techniques, whether that be strictly in-camera work, in-camera work coupled with traditional post-processing techniques, or ICMs in combination with creative post processing, such as textures, creative filters, and impressionistic renderings.
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| In-Camera Multiple Exposure Work (2022-Present) | |||
In early 2024, things began to shift for me creatively and artistically. Up to that point, I had been creating fully in the camera, but I became restless and decided to start experimenting with handmade cyanotype printing, as well as to explore layering and blending options using Photoshop. As a result, my artistry began moving in new and exciting directions that I never could have imagined previously. I'm not generally one to sit still or stay in one place for too long creatively, and this expansion of my creative techniques and processes has brought new life and a profound evolution of my work.
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| Experimental Cyanotypes (2024-Present) | |||
As I allowed myself to explore layering and blending techniques in Photoshop, I began developing the idea to redefine ICM from the standard definition of Intention Camera Movement to Intentional Creative Moments. With my own artistry evolving, I wanted to continue paying homage to the original ICM that propelled me down this creative path in the first place, but I also wanted to expand the definition of what ICM can be to reflect the trajectory and growth of my creative path.
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| Layering and Blending Camera-Based Image Files (2024-Present) | |||
Learning Photoshop and becoming more comfortable with using layers, blending, brushes, and masks by playing around with my camera-based image files, and after spending loads of time experimenting with cyanotypes, I found myself wondering what might happen if I blended some of my digital image files with the scanned image files of my handmade cyanotype prints. The results were extremely exciting and actually led me to develop an online workshop that I've given a number of times through Santa Fe Workshops to teach this process of blending analog and digital processes.
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| Blending Analog & Digital Image Files (2024-Present) | |||
Ever on a journey towards growth, expansion, and evolution, I have begun to pursue another long-held desire to paint, so I've been exploring more handmade creative processes and techniques over the past year. This ultimately will lead me to finding ways to layer and blend this new work together with my already established creative outlets, and I'm excited about the opportunities for new creative growth.
Because so much of the creative work I've been doing since 2024 involves using what I like to call 'gathered elements', I've also been teaching The Art of Gathered Elements as a creative concept.
I truly believe that creativity knows no bounds, and as long as we stay open to allowing creativity to flow through us as creative beings, the wellspring of ideas, possibilities, and potentialities will be overflowing.
Thank you for taking time to learn more about me, for coming alongside me in your own creative journey, and for hopefully believing that through art we can make a difference in this world.
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Blending Handmade Drawings with Digital Image Files (2026)
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ICM Photography Magazine |
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Workshops & Retreats
I also teach ICM, ME, and Creative Photography techniques with the highly regarded Santa Fe Workshops, both online and on-location (US & Mexico), as well as online and on-location with Out of Chicago. Collaborating with a number of other photography communities, I also lead location-based ICM workshops in a number of locations, both in the US and outside the US, to provide interactive learning opportunities with ICM, ME, and Creative Photography. Additionally, I provide online workshops and presentations for a variety of online communities, as well.
Join my Newsletter Mailing List and/or the ICMPhotoMag Mailing List to receive updates about upcoming online and on-location workshops.
