Black & White Portfolio
« The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera. »
- Dorothea Lange (American photographer 1895-1965)
Welcome to my Black & White Portfolio!
Browse a selection of my darkroom work here using the table of contents to the right (below on mobile), or browse more specific portfolios in the Nature/Arch, Events, or History tabs found at the top of the website.
All of these prints and more can be requested in any size, from wallet to poster, in the Orders & Events tab or by pressing the button below. For more information on the cameras used to create these images and the process involved please navigate to the History & Tech tab.
« ...when asked what camera I use, I reply, 'The heaviest one I can carry!' » -Ansel Adams (American Photographer 1902-1984)
Busch Pressman Model D
4x5 inch View Camera
Built in Chicago ca. ~1961
At the time, the smallest 4x5 camera made in America. Solid aluminum build makes this a strong, light, and portable camera to carry around to this day.
(Taken using a second Busch Pressman Model D 4x5 ca. 2022)
Colorado River, Columbus Texas
Constructed in 1920's by the Southern Pacific Railroad, this Camelback through truss bridge is directly adjacent to the Old Spanish Trail
(Taken on Kiev 60 (120 camera))
Texas State Capitol, Austin Texas
Capitol underground expansion shown in foreground.
Part of the Capitol restoration works begun after a fire in the East Wing in 1983.
In 1989 the master plan for the final Capitol restoration brought new life to this century old government building by doubling the area inside the Capitol to an immense 667,000 sq. ft., with the addition of this massive underground complex.
Extension completed 1993, restoration work completed 1995
(Taken on Busch Pressman 4x5 ca. 2022)
At center is the "Texas Cowboy," a statue gifted to the State of Texas by New York artist Constance Whitney Warren in 1925. It was sculpted during her time in Paris as a bronze tribute to the native home of the cowboy, Texas.
Texas State Capitol Rotunda
Completed in 1888, the top of the Texas Capitol is 15 feet taller than the Nations Capitol Building in Washington D.C.
(Taken on Busch Pressman 4x5 ca. 2022)
« If what I see in my mind excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. »
- Ansel Adams (American Photographer 1902-1984)
The City of Houston,
Metropolis on the Buffalo Bayou
(Taken on Busch Pressman 4x5)
Tower of the Americas
The Tower of the Americas was constructed for San Antonio's 1968 worlds fair, known as Hemisfair '68. It utilizes around 4,000 cubic yards of concrete and weighs approximately 80 million pounds. Its antenna spire, above the "top house," reaches a dizzying 750 feet above San Antonio. The Tower is composed of a distinctive 45 foot wide concrete shaft with three exterior elevators.
River Oaks Theatre, Houston Texas
Constructed in 1939, the River Oaks Theater is the last surviving Art Deco theater from its era in the downtown Houston area. Notable features of this theater are its magnificent neon marquee, original terrazzo entryway, an impressive central ceiling fixture, and art deco motif sculptures of land and sea that border either side of the main stage.
(Shot on Busch Pressman Model D 4x5)
The mythical Poppy Vaughan
(Shot on Киев 60, ca. 2021)
USAF flight demonstration team
(Shot on hp5+ @800
telephoto 400mm)
« I feel a certain calm. There is safety in the midst of danger. What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? »
- Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch Painter 1853-1890)
Canadian Snowbirds demonstration team
(Shot on hp5+ @800
telephoto 400mm)
Christian Esquivel, UTSA Sombrilla Fountain
Direct positive print made in camera, one of two originals. Anyone from UTSA will notice it is backwards.
(Shot on Calumet 8x10, ca. 2020)
« Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. [It is] a major force in explaining man to man. »
- Edward Steichen (American Photographer 1879-1973)
UTSA Main Campus facing West
Double Exposure, UTSA University Center and Sombrilla Fountain
Quite frankly an accident, but it looks quite nice.
(Taken on a Busch Pressman 4x5)
Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas
(Busch Pressman 4x5)
The Battleship Texas, at the San Jacinto Battlegrounds State Park
Launched on May 18th 1912, she is the only extant Dreadnought Battleship still afloat today. Preparations are underway to move her from her 74 year home on the Houston Ship Channel to undergo renovations in Galveston.
(Shot on Polaroid 600, ca. 2022)
Leon Creek Greenway, San Antonio, Texas
One of the first photographs I ever took on Large Format
(Calumet 8x10 camera with Harman direct positive paper)
Intersection of Little and Big Cypress Creek's
Johnson Space Center
Wedding of Jordan and Daniel Plum
Austin, Texas
Alternative Processes
Long Exposure direct positive print, 8x10 Ilford silver gelatin photo paper
« Yes, in the sense that the negative is like the composer’s score. Then, using that musical analogy, the print is the performance. »
- Ansel Adams (American Photographer 1902-1984)
Solarizations
UTSA MH on the Paseo Principal
UTSA HM building 3rd floor atrium