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About Eric
I was born in Brooklyn,
NY, but grew
up in Valley Stream, Long Island, which is just 35 short minutes from downtown Manhattan................or 12 hours with traffic.
In 1964, I was aspiring to become a famous jazz guitarist
and architect. But in 1966, the government decided I should take a cruise to Vietnam, play guitar in the Navy band and study cooking instead.
As a Navy chef, I had every other day off and traveled to many
exotic lands which got me interested in photography.
After 3 yrs, 9 mos, 7 days and 14 hrs of Navy duty, I
enrolled at the famous NY Institute of Photography in Manhattan
to study commercial photography and later obtained a position as
a catalogue commercial photographer. For 3 years, I shot products
for advertising, brochures and magazines, which was a great learning
experience.
Still searching for the perfect job, I became a NY
corporate photographer with the prestigious Sperry Gyroscope Corporation for
almost 20 years. Lockheed Martin then contracted me to photograph nuclear
submarines, radar sites, and other military and manufacturing
locations for public relations, marketing brochures, and tech manuals.
Now living In Sarasota, FL and having an architectural
and industrial background, I photograph artwork, sculptures and shoot
commercial work for brochures and websites. I also helped create
one of the finest real estate photography companies in the business,
photographing commercial and residential properties.
As my passion for photography keeps growing, so does the
subject matter. After being around military hardware, I am intrigued and
drawn to photographing large industrial machinery, boats, trains, planes,
motorcycles, and anything that moves.
As
much as I love crawling around manufacturing sites,
ship yards, train yards and hanging off radar towers, I also love
fine art, travel and panorama photography. There is something
so relaxing and tranquil
about shooting landscape and seascapes.
Equipment
While on assignment or
talking to photography lovers, I’m constantly asked what cameras or equipment I
use to shoot the image. The real question should be “how did I shoot
the image.”
So many amateurs and
new photographers starting out, think buying expensive cameras and
equipment will make them a great photographer.…….....…nothing could be further
from the truth!
It is truly the photographer
and his knowledge that creates the image, not the camera. The equipment
(like the brushes of an artist) are only the tools to get the
results..............Of course, being incredibly wealthy and having
hi-end equipment will certainly make the job and your life much easier.
I use many technical
and hi-end cameras for architectural, commercial and industrial images, which
include: Corfield WA 6x7 PC, Hasselblads, Wista technical,
Sinar, Cambo and Horseman view cameras, Mamiya 7ll, a special XPan Panorama and
Nikons. For lighting, I use Elinchrom, Plume Wafers, Northlight,
Speedotron, Quantum and Nikon with many accessories.
Since tripods are
subjective, and one of the most used pieces of equipment in the field, you must
try many to know what feels comfortable. I prefer carbon and wood and use
special heads with quick release mounts. In the studio, nothing beats
the comfort and convenience of a Cambo camera stand.
Many times, in-camera
meters can be fooled. So, I often use special Sekonic hand meters
with radio transmitters to get the best exposure.
Now that I have
transitioned from film into Digital, I am still a Nikon user, until Hasselblad
comes out with an affordable system (under a billion dollars). I feel
Nikon lenses are still some of the finest 35mm available………….. But, if you love
to shoot fine art, and incredibly wealthy or win the lottery, Leica, the
“Rolls Royce” of 35mm cameras, makes some of the finest optics on the planet
and would be my first choice in a DSLR /rangefinder system.
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