It took forty years to find myself. With a camera, a pen and a wood walking stick I did.
From evenings at Manhattan's Rattazzis Restaurant, 9 E. 48th St., to starry nights in the High Sierra. Middle aged, for 20 years I backpacked the American West. The nature of Nature became a passion.
Curiosity are the seeds of creativity. It sent this 83 year old kid hobbling down the tarmac chasing a 70 year old P51 D Mustang aircraft with my 35 mm Nikon slide camera last August.
A lifetime of looking at my world through a viewfinder began at age 11. When curiosity led me to photograph my Lionel Trains, an icon of 1940's kiddom in our home in New Rochelle, NY. I even fashioned a darkroom in the attic.
High school afternoons were spent swimming at the Y or oogling girls wearing brown and white saddle shoes at the Peppermint Lounge. None of my studies interested me.
After college as an attractive young man 1960's Manhattan beckoned, a world of ritzi women and classy watering holes. But I had no skills to sell. I became a Direct Mail Marketing salesman working with my father. A terrible job. Besides it interfered with drinking with my other alcoholic buddies. Two failed marriages, depression. In 1973 my 13 year old son and I started over in San Francisco. My son went on to spend almost 30 years at the Justice Department as an honored Attorney.
Inspired by Elliot Porters photographs of the Sierra Nevada Mountains my childlike curiosity rushed back. WIth a new Nikon and a green backpack my life changed forever. Ahhh wilderness. Solitude with my Golden Retriever, for 40 years my most beloved companions. Mountains gave me their tidings, never have I felt so alive.
Backpacking boomed in the 1970s and many California trails were overcrowded. Seeking uncrowded scenic terrains it was clear that more information was needed. An idea grew- a magazine about trails less traveled in the American West. Featuring history, geology, flora and fauna. Little known scenic treasures.
However the periodical dream was put on hold as I was offered a job as marketing manager for Trailwise, a young quality manufacturer of outdoor gear. I created a new catalog which was well received in the fledgling backpacking industry centered in Berkeley, California. Trailwise moved, giving me a generous severance package. Encouraged by outdoor friends, Jack Gilbert a founder of North Face gave me a thousand dollars for future advertising space.
Writing, professional photography and publishing skills eluded me however I learned well. The first continuous issue of California Explorer Magazine was published in 1978. Hundreds of stories flowed from my 1949 Parker "51" fountain pen virtually the best ever made. Quality photographs were captured by my manual Nikon exploring Mountains, Forests, Deserts and Ghost Towns.
It was a magic journey to Rocky Basin Lakes, in the high country of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. All my senses were in tune with Nature. I was a creature navigating the landscape. My custom made boots tread over waves of granite. Marmots chirped a warning of a passing stranger.
I was discovering the freedom, joy and fun of cross country backpacking. No trail just the solitude. With my topo map, compass and Thommens altimeter. With these new skills exploring above timberline reached my soul. More than ever I was a part of nature.
The journey is everything. It was one of hundreds of adventures some sublime, some fearful, all unique.
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks"
John Muir
In the early 80's in San Francisco my skills were recognized. I was interviewed on local television and written about by newspaper columnists. I wrote and recorded a series on radio on outdoor news and had a photography exhibit. My low income was supplemented by modeling.
My stories and photographs were welcome in the freelance world. Outside Magazine, AAA Magazine, Sierra Club Magazine, American West Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. Lynn Ferron then editor of AAA Magazine said I was her favorite writer and photographer because my work required the least amount of editing.
In 1986 I moved from a high rent flat in San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill to a charming cottage in Tahoe City. My Golden Retriever and I could walk to the lake in 6 minutes and where there were thousands of the worlds best skipping stones. In my driveway was a new four wheel drive Volkswagen “Syncro” Camper – perfect.
I had cash in the bank. By 1990 more than 10,000 paid subscribers. Most came from direct mail marketing designed and written by me, saving thousands of dollars in consulting fees.
I spent a million dollars over the years to inform backpackers by mail, responses were fantastic.
Off the charts for the industry.
After years of designing and redesigning a direct mail package myself a new approach was needed. I hired a consultant to write a new mail package. It bombed! I lost too much money to continue publishing.
Subscriptions had to be fulfilled and suppliers had to be paid. A business man from Sacramento took over.
My world crashed. I was 62, not enough money to retire, no work and no income. A job at Safeway Market beckoned. Clinical depression and white wine took over. I took early retirement - shortsighted. I sold my treasured home and camper along with my white pine antique furniture, worst mistakes of my life. I bought a small motor home planning to ramble about. Years of unhappiness followed. My Golden Retriever, Polar and I were vagabonds.
Now outside my rippled antique windows are pristine homes, some fashioned by ship builders in the mid 1800's in historic Bath, Maine nestled above the Kennebec River. Without my friend to walk I now bicycle over a thousand miles a year.
Generations of explorers have had richer lives reading my magazine. The Main Branch San Francisco Public Library and the Stanford University Library both have a permanent collection of every issue. They are among institutions who have a complete collection. The magazine is still being published today by Doug Denny an old friend. Back issues are treasured for a new generation of Backpackers.
Curiosity created 20 years of creativity. At 83, it continues today. As I seek images few others notice and write with the same Maroon and Gold Parker "51" Fountain Pen.
Virtually all photographs are as I saw them in my viewfinder. Images of Eastern Long Island were taken in the 1960's. Most of the collection is from early 1970's to early 1990's using mostly a manual Nikon Film Camera.
Memories renewed...
Wind blows where it wishes.
I was inside a snowglobe. Lost in a white out at 12,000 ft. Elevation. Testing my survival skills.
The joy of finding the headwaters of the Kern River, alpine gardens. High Mountain charm.
Endless days of photographing ghost towns and deserts.
WIldlife could be scary- clouds of Mosquitos in Tuolumne Meadows, clouds of Gnats above the Merced RIver, being charged by a Roosevelt Elk, Rattlesnakes, Black Bears and Scorpions.
The joys of kiddom as I have entered the 21st century with a new Nikon Digital Camera. Now I ride my bike with this new instrument what fun! The best anti-depressant.
Creating this website has allowed me to relive my adventures, renewing my curiosity, how I would love to backpack to unnamed lakes beneath the Great Western Divide. However my body of work offers solace. Self discovery took half a lifetime making success that much sweeter.
I hope you find meaning in my images and wisdom in these words.
I encourage you to telephone me with your thoughts.
1-631-377-6864 Between 9-5 EST. Thanks in advance for your purchase.
It validates my passion for the great outdoors.
On March 1, 2018 he left Bath, Maine for a small cottage in senior housing in East Hampton. Bicycling along byways in the flat terrain is a joy. Past memories are renewed recently I became 85, Utopia it’s as close as I can get.
"If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water how can you buy them? Man does not weave this web of life. He is merely a strand. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."
Chief Seattle a Suquamish Nation Indian
Please click on each photo for narrative.