Who is this guy?

I'm a self-taught photographer, author of the AIDS activist project, turtle, penguin, dog, all Gods creatures lover.

In 1972 I was still living in Pennsylvania; I found my dad's old Minolta SRT-101 35mm camera and began shooting with it, trying to master the art of exposure and composition. Over time I learned the basics of B&W film processing and printing, improving my skills by trial and error. I read books on film processing, printing, and, over time, became somewhat adept at it. When I began processing film, I remember being thrilled when I saw actual images on the film; success!!

I moved to New York in 1980. After a few oddball jobs, I began photographing weddings, corporate events, and the like. I bought equipment as I went along and learned how to use it. My apartment on East 14th Street was large enough to build a studio where I could do commercial photography; I built up a small business doing headshots, portraits, and the occasional wedding.

I've come to love street photography and spend hours and hours and hours walking the streets searching for the elusive perfect image, that magic instant. Photographers who inspired me to start photographing and influenced my work are Dorothea Lang, Helmut Newton, Henri Cartier Bresson, Helen Levitt, Vivian Maier, and Roman Vishniac they motivated me to photograph.

One of my most significant accomplishments so far is "the AIDS activist project." I consider this project and the published book among my most notable achievements. 

Work from the book, "the AIDS activist project" is on Instagram and Facebook, it is available for purchase here.

Please take a few minutes to find out who I am and what I do. See more of my work on Instagram and Facebook. I have limited edition prints of my work available for purchase here.

-bill