A passion for creating images, my fascination with the creative potential of the computer and a new position at Kodak all came together at this point in time, becoming the catalyst for my decades long journey of exploration into digital media.

In June of 1984 I purchased one of the original Macintosh 128K computers justifing it as a needed expense for my part-time freelance photo business (I wanted to be able to create professional looking documents). I knew, however, from the first moment I saw the sales guy lasso that sneaker in MacPaint and drag it around the screen, that this machine had numerous other creative applications. (or... at least the potential.)

In 1985 I took a position as a photo technician with Kodak's brand new Electronic Photography Division. This put me in the right place, at the right time, to witness photographic history in the making. Here I not only observed, but actively participated in the painful process of taking cutting edge technologies and turning them into the digital imaging products that we now take for granted.

My developing skills as a computer illustrator, gained using my personal Mac, led to my becoming the primary document creator for Electronic Photography's Advanced Development Group. Soon I had a Mac on my desk at Kodak as well and I set about creating illustrations for management presentations, drafting product proposals, protocol documents, software flow diagrams, interface designs and many other documents throughout the late 1980's.

A CD-ROM full of MacPaint, MacWrite, MacDraw, Word, Illustrator, and Pagemaker files (my backups) from that period has enabled me to begin to tell the story of how digital imaging evolved at Kodak. Conveniently, the computer had nicely time stamped each file at the moment of it's creation providing the timeline necessary for me to tell that story now.

The story also highlights the struggle we faced trying to impart our vision of the future of photography upon the Kodak corporate hierarchy. A culture that has proven over the years to be highly resisitant to change.

My digital history is packed with pictures, illustrations, descriptions and stories of the hardware and software products I've had an opportunity to work, play and beta test over the years. There are also product proposals, product designs, concept illustrations and even art pieces that I have created using many of these early digital products, including some very early digital images, animations, digitizer samples, Hypercard stacks, and more.
(A work in progress)

For almost two decades now, I've been surfing the waves of cutting-edge technologies in digital imaging. From a variety of roles in quality assurance, systems analysis, product development, software design, educational development, and technical support I had access to the latest hardware and software tools.

That access allowed me, during my "leisure" hours, to explore the creative possibilities that these many tools offered. Visit my Virtual Gallery where you can view my images, many of which were created over the course of thousands of very late nights.

* Addendum: 1/7/2002

After twenty-seven years at Kodak, I had pretty much decided it was time to move on. Digital photography was now a mature technology and with the closure of Dynamic Imaging (lenticular imaging group) there was little left that offered a challenge and would be enjoyable "work". In September of 2001, I "took" the Kodak involuntary separation plan so that I could move on to new endeavors.

I hope to devote more time to my photography and have begun by updating many aspects of this web site. Lenticular imaging is another technology I have longed to use to display my 3D illustrations, once I figure out how to pay for the printing. Look for more updates here in the future.

* Addendum: 3/17/2005

Shortly after writing the last addendum 3 years ago, two friends and I formed a corporation and established a company called Zaxys Depth & Motion Imaging. We thought to capture the clients that Kodak had deserted when shutting down Dynamic Imaging. However, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 had a severe effect on Rochester and the national economy and in especially advertising. Business was difficult to find and there wasn't enough to support one of us let alone three of us. Over the last few years my partners left to pursue other careers.

I, however, continue to persevere because creating 3d images is what I enjoy doing. I have figured out how to create my own lenticular prints and have acquired the software and hardware to make it happen. The phone is ringing much more frequently as people are beginning to spend on lenticular advertising again.