I had the good fortune to work closely with three of the greatest photographers and teachers of the second half of the twentieth century: Minor White, Harry Callahan, and Aaron Siskind. Upon completing my M.F.A. at the Rhode Island School of Design, I taught at Harvard University before accepting a position in 1973 at the University of Dayton, where I was hired to create and develop an entirely new course of study in photography. In addition to establishing B.A. and B.F.A. programs at UD that have earned national reputations, I have sustained an active career as a photographer. My photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries across the country. I have won numerous awards and grants, and my work is in many significant museum, individual and corporate collections.

I have also served as chair of the Department of Visual Arts for seven years from 1992-1999. I had also held the position of Endowed Graul Chair in Arts and Languages from 2009 to 2012. I have taught in UD's study abroad program in Florence, Rome, Athens, and London.

Although my photographs are invariably "straight," I work with a wide variety of subject matter and my pictures reflect a considerable spectrum of ideas and perspectives. The following statement nevertheless represents the general approach I take to my work:

"I am interested in looking plainly at things that yield more than plain looking is presumed to reveal. I prefer to work in places and among things with which I feel myself to be fully present. These qualities may be found almost anywhere, in almost anything: a city street, a tree, a certain quality of light, a fleeting gesture. Potential subjects are not hard to find, and in some ways, photography is as easy as it appears to be. The challenge is to see. Like breathing, it seems so simple until you give it your complete attention."