I'm a Landscape Photographer. I'd be lying if I said I was a photographer. Without the Landscape, I would never have picked up the camera for the first time in a more reflective way, and probably without the Landscape, I wouldn't maintain this life that I didn't seek or choose, but which the Landscape itself drives me to continue. What drives me is not the search for the perfect image, it's not the search for the trendy location, it's not the search for the only aesthetically attractive image. I want to go beyond the inherent condition of literal representation associated with photography. I take photographs to convey the person I am, to express what goes through my head and what I feel when I'm in nature. With my photography I want to elevate my experience beyond the literal observation and re-presentation of beautiful things. My photographs say much more about me than about the places I visit. When I photograph, I don't want to tell the truth about an object. That doesn't interest me. My photography doesn't pretend to be objective, representative or truthful, but it isn't abstract or pretentious. My photography, while not true, is real, natural. My photography is metaphorical. An ordinary observer standing next to me at the time of the photograph probably wouldn't see the landscape as I do, but they would certainly recognize it. I'm not a photographic traveler; I like to shoot close to home, in places I can return to again and again, where I can create relationships. The images I like best are of old friendships. I can't imagine photographing without relationships. I never go out to photograph with a goal or a plan, at most a slight intention; I go for the pleasure of the walk and sometimes I take the camera with me. Sometimes, very rarely, something catches my eye and then I follow Minor White's advice: “When you approach something to photograph, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms its presence. Then don't leave until you've captured its essence”.