My good friend and fellow photographer, Mitch Arsenie, starts off his new career today as a high school biology teacher. There are three photographers who have influenced the direction of my current work. One is Gayla Trail whose Holga work got me intrigued enough to get one and start experimenting with it. Another is Susan Burnstine, who got me starting on the road to blur. Mitch, in many ways, was the most influential. He was taking a photography class some years back and our conversations about it and photography in general convinced me that I needed to go back to my first love, film, after a three year trist with digital. I’ve never looked back and will always be eternally grateful for that nudge in the right direction. Thanks, Mitch, and best of luck to you on your new journey. Enjoy all those great bennies!

Three days to go. That when my first solo exhibit opens at the Mode Realty Gallery, 818 W. 18th St. (at S. Halsted) as part of the monthly Pilsen 2nd Fridays artwalk. I’ll be showing work from the Across the Borderline and the St. Louis Arch studies series. Come say howdy at the opening reception which will be held Friday, September 8 from 6 pm to 10 pm. The show runs through September 27.

In addition Balancing Act, has been selected to hang along with the work of 41 other photographers at the 3rd Annual Member’s International Exhibition at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, CO. The exhibition begins Friday, October 6 with an opening reception at the Center’s gallery. Among the artists who I’ll be sharing wall space with is the lovely and uber-talented Goddess of Blur herself, Susan Burnstine. The exhibition ends November 4.