For me, the most important thing I learned was just honing my eye. I think I had a good eye.

Regardless of whether you speak the language or are familiar with a culture, the picture should hold up.

Coming from California and growing up where I did, I've always had a fondness for and innate sensitivity to light, texture, and warmth.

I'm pretty selective. I generally edit the contact sheets and then do work prints. Because I have my own lab and printers, I can afford the luxury of going through the contact sheets for black-and-white, making up work prints, seeing them big, and honing them down.

I like form and shape and strength in pictures.

I was an economics major, which I enjoyed because I had a good business sense.

It's always more comforting to know that in any given corner of any room or any location you're on, you can make a photograph that you'll appreciate.