I am a retired university professor of human sciences (Emeritus, The Florida State University; prior, Michigan State University). I have been doing exhibit photography for 25 years. In the last 15 years I have been aspiring to “art” and away from “technical photography”. Both missions employ

still cameras; a tool that allows us to see things better than the human eye. Moreover, the stopping of action allows us to capture events visually so that they can be considered over time.

Photography is a  technical skill that delivers pictures. All of us can do it, some better than others, and the collections on Instagram and other social media often are wondrous and breathtaking in their beauty and/or cleverness (the “WOW” factor).

Still photography aspires to art to the extent that the camera is used to communicate “images, impressions, meanings, and feelings that cannot be adequately expressed in words.”

My eye is good at capturing meaningful moments at their defining point (Cartier-Bresson’s “moment decisif”). My voice is that of the technical writer: First person, simple declarative sentences, present tense. I get rid of all data but the essentials. My mission is to capture illuminating moments and then to show them to others.(Otherwise there is no point). My work often is for sale at exhibitions, but -- even though sales are affirming -- that is not my goal. I want to move people, and that means my work must be seen. And a few of my images could be difficult to live with.