I've had an on-again, off-again relationship with photography ever since I bought my beloved Olympus OM-1 (alas, long gone) in the 1970s. Somewhere along the way I realized it's the art form I can't quit, because looking at the world through my lens is how I see best. I've always been drawn to street photography — the energy and rhythms of the city, the moments that appear and vanish in an instant, the unexpected beauty of the apparently ordinary. In the past few years I've been exploring more abstract and impressionistic approaches to evoke a particular feeling or atmosphere. The best images happen when what's in front of the lens connects with something inside me I didn't know was there!

1. What one piece of advice would you give street photographers just starting out?

   Don’t give up! I often find that my photographic breakthroughs happen just when I’m convinced that the outing has been a total bust and I’m almost ready to pack it in. Maybe because that’s the point where I get desperate enough to try something new – a new angle, a different shutter speed, multiple exposures, an unexpected white balance – and suddenly the world in front of me shifts. So keep going!

2. What are your top two places in Vancouver for shooting and why?

   a. Mount Pleasant (where I live) – because it’s a neighbourhood that feels

   pleasantly unfinished, with hipster cafés and artsy boutiques mingling with

   autobody shops and old, low-rise apartments, and an eclectic population that makes people-watching endlessly interesting.

   b. The second isn’t so much a specific place as sites of urban decay in general – rundown streets, abandoned buildings, seedy motels, industrial wastelands, etc. I’ve always been drawn to these spaces and I don’t really know why. Maybe because they contain, more than other spaces, a visceral sense of time passing. Or maybe because my outgoing personality

3. Which three street photographers have influenced your work the most?

   • Greg Girard

   • Fred Herzog

   • Olga Karlovac

4. Describe your work using up to four keywords.

   • Intuitive

   • Emotional

   • Impressionistic

   • Eclectic

5. Tell us about (up to 5) books, music or other art forms that influence your photography.

   • The 19 th century Impressionist painters, particularly Monet for his profound understanding of light and Degas for his strong sense of composition.

   • The book “Ben Shahn” edited by John D Morse has influenced my entire approach to art since I first read it in the 1980s.

   • Collage – for creating layers of imagery and meaning.