Writing with Light

I feel privileged to have had photography as my passion, and my profession, for more than 45 years. I have been fortunate to have wonderful teachers, mentors, friends and colleagues along the way from whom I have learned so much about the craft and aesthetics of the medium, and whose images have inspired me during my journey. I love the word “photography”—its literal meaning being “light writing.” For me, light is the essential element of this magical medium. The pursuit of this often elusive and variable band of electromagnetic radiation, and how photographic films and papers respond to it, is still a magical part of the process for me.

I was recently interviewed by Jennifer Quick, curator of the Polaroid Consultant Photographers collections at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School, regarding my time as a photographic consultant to Polaroid. In preparation for our virtual video interview, I was inspired to gather numerous portfolio boxes of original 4x5 Polaroid Land instant prints that I have made over the years. We have a few of these images framed in our home and studio, but I had not looked at many of the prints for a number of years. As my wife, Anne Larsen, and I went through the boxes print-by-print, fond memories of making these photographs came back to me. We agreed that the intimate, jewel-like quality of an original Polaroid instant print was uniquely beautiful. I was very pleased when editor Wes Pitts expressed a keen interest in sharing some of my Polaroid images here and decided the best