These pictures were taken in late April and early May of 2023. The trip was in three parts: two stays on Hawaii, separated by a relatively short stay on Oahu. The beauty of the former is very familiar to me, but my visits to Oahu had consisted of nothing more than some stops at the airport, so I was excited to explore that island, and to discover its particular brand of magic. It did not disappoint.

Now that I have spent time on all the major Hawaiian islands, I can see why people say that each has its own personality, its own kind of beauty, and its own way of making you happy.

I intentionally avoided spending a lot of time in Honolulu, although I’m sure it has its charms. The natural beauty of Oahu- what was there before the big hotels- was what I wanted to photograph. Do the pictures do justice to the incredible sights I saw? Of course not. But the fun is in trying- fool’s errand or not- to make that happen, just a bit. Whether (or to what degree) I succeeded is up to the reader to decide.

A collection of black and white digital images taken between 2013 and 2022.

This book is an effort to make use of the potential for dramatic effect which black and white photography presents. We see in color, so there is a "suspension of disbelief" which is asked of the viewer when looking at these pictures. Eliminating pre-conceived notions of what images will or won't look good in black and white helped me to accomplish this. It took a while for me to recognize, when looking through the viewfinder, and then, when editing the photos, what images would lend themselves to being presented in black and white. There were some surprises along the way. For example, I wouldn't have expected any sunset pictures to end up in this collection, but they did; in fact, one ended up on the cover.

     Expanding, refining, and improving the choices which take place in the mind's eye before pressing the shutter button is the key; that's an ongoing process which will hopefully continue for the duration. These "interior choices" are the foundation which make the final product possible. You can't have the second without the first. Whether "Black Grey White" contains a fair number of good choices is for the viewer to decide.

Working on the premise that it’s good to try to make the best of any bad situation, the pictures in the first section of this book were taken in two airports, under duress. A vacation is supposed to be a relaxing and happy experience, but there are times when the travel gods (Frustratius, Annoius, Delaius, and Irritatia) simply won’t permit it.

Such was the case on departure day for me and my traveling companion. So, rather than sit around and try to guess how high our respective systolic blood pressures would get as the hours crawled by, I grabbed the camera bag and tried to find some good images around and outside the terminal. I tried, in other words, to make lemonade from lemons- with what success, I will leave to the reader to determine.

A photographic record of a trip taken by two new friends to Hawaii. The journey was one of exploration- both of the beautiful landscape of the Big Island, and of each other. Indelible memories were the happy result

My attempt to do justice to a beautiful place by photographing subjects big and small.

It’s not often that one is awed by… anything. And that’s the way it should be. The adjective “awesome” is overused. Still, there are times when it fits. The intense four-day trip to Germany which this book loosely documents was made awesome by a giant inanimate object- Cologne Cathedral- and two giants of the musical world: Bob Mintzer and Chico Pinheiro. These two great artists make music for the ages. Cologne Cathedral is an edifice for the ages. To experience all three in one four-day span was memorable to the nth degree.

This project was a labor of love. Using photographs, text, interviews, and a family tree, it chronicles and celebrates in an informal way the connection between and eventual merging of two families, whose forebears emigrated to the U.S. from central and eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The images and the words shed light on the amazing people whose will, courage, and hard work paved the way for the generations that followed.