When I began studying photography, silver based black and white photography was still using procedures that had been formulated in the 1800s. Silver halide coated films were exposed in the camera and developed in light proof containers. The resulting negatives were enlarged onto silver halide coated paper. The darkroom routine had been virtually the same for decades – expose, develop, stop, fix, wash, dry. The darkroom was a magic place and I spent countless hours trying to pull the perfect print.

Because I was the mother of three young children, much of my early work featured the kids who were usually open to posing. Their friends and others became models as my interest in portraiture expanded to include fellow faculty, students, and friends.