When I was in school there was only one clear path for me, I wanted to be a biologist. In my senior year in high school and then again during college, I worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (ANSP). I worked in several departments including the Live Animal Unit, Malacology Dept, Vertebrate Paleontology Dept. and Invertebrate Paleontology Dept. Those years of working behind the scenes in the collections of the oldest museum in the country were exciting and educational.
Me at ANSP in 1983
I was already passionate about photography and working with the various collections made me realize how visually interesting shells, rocks, and even bone could be. I often envisioned abstract imagery that I could make with the specimens I worked with. During the years after working at ANSP I began to accumulate a small collection of fossils, shells and other natural items for their visual interest. Most recently I have began to explore these items for their visual interest again.
As a full time photographer, I see how my life experiences are still reflected in my work. And while I haven’t worked as a biologist for almost 7 years, I still use that education in making each new image.
The image below is a detail of sandstone from out west that I purchased from a local specialist shop. The pattern so seemingly reflects a western desert landscape, I had to work with it in my studio.
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