I set out to create a style of night time photography that had not been created. That required actively disregarding everything I learned about composition and taking pictures. The basic components included capturing a single image at night without the use of filters, composite images, or extensive post production orchestration of the final print. I wanted to capture pin-point stars, a subtle natural blue to black color transition in the dark sky, and true and accurate colors in the foreground utilizing a technique known as painting with light. Due to the advancements in the digital cameras, my creativity and experimentation moved along with much greater ease as opposed to attempting to mastermind this process with a film based camera.
My first successful image was captured in the Superstition Mountains, which is close to 60 miles East of Phoenix, Arizona. Originally, there was an emphasis on iconic and easily recognizable locations, but as the complexity of the photos progressed, a shift was made to seek out unique subjects and destinations. For the next five years, I almost exclusively worked on mastering the techniques and images as I traveled both near and far to create an impressive collection.
