EARLY WORK (1972-1975): UNITED STATES / EUROPE (1970- 1973)

In 1968 I bought my first SLR for $70 in one of the camera stores on 33rd and Broaday in New York City. In my parents' tiny apartment in Brooklyn I converted the bathroom at night into a darkroom. The following spring, I headed to Los Angeles to go to college. I got a job assisting my uncle who was a wedding photographer. 

In 1972, I flew to Paris to see Europe for the first time. Before leaving I hand-rolled 100 feet of tri-x film into 19 rolls, 700 frames for six months (I bought more later). It wasn't until I I took the Orient Express to Turkey that I knew I wanted to become a professional photographer. In Istanbul I returned day after day to in an old neighborhood of wooden houses to talk to people and take portraits. The old men acted like boys, while the young boys had the responsibility of adults.