I am a writer and photographer currently working as a reporter at the Montague Reporter in Turners Falls, MA. I've been working for the Reporter since 2008, covering the school district and community events. I frequently provide photography with my article, especially when covering entertainment such as community theater reviews and student performances. I have a bachelors degree in Art from the City University of New York (CUNY) and an MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College. I grew up in Philadelphia, PA and spent the majority of my adult life in Brooklyn, NY. I have one son, Paul, who works as a broadcast engineer. I've lived in Franklin County since 2002 when I moved from NYC to find a new life. I retired shortly after arriving in Western Mass, worked on regaining my health and started working as a reporter, which has turned out to be the best job I've ever had. Everything I've done in my life, all the many kinds of work I've done before this, have prepared me well for the work I do now. My art background, which focused on photography from the start, gave me a good foundation from which to work. Photojournalism is a new field for me, but I've always loved photographing people engaged in their lives. From the start I also loved photographing nature but it wasn't until I started trying to produce images of flowers as they look in nature, that I began to concentrate on creating beautiful photographs of flowers, particularly spring flowers and flowering trees. Learning how to use natural light to get the best image has been a challenge and quest. I've had a lot of success and received lots of praise for those nature photographs but the struggle is to continue to approach my work with fresh eyes, and find new and exciting challenges in my work.Like many other artists, I live in an ever changing world where the focus of my work changes continually. So I'm working on completing a novel, applying to the local community college to produce a writing workshop, seeking more opportunities to market my skills and my work. I will be building a new website that enables me to share my photographs in easily viewed galleries, and offer them for purchase with a link to quality vendors who will produce prints for online customers. Hopefully, I will find time to enjoy the world we share and contribute to my community as well.
