Chronology

1933 August 10, born in Utica, New York.

1938­–51 Attended public schools in Carthage, New York.

1951 Entered United States Coast Guard Academy.

1954 Resigned from academy. Went to New York City; studied at the School of Modern Photography for short time. Apprenticed to the illustrator/photographer Anton Bruehl.

1956–58 Drafted into United States Army; served as radio operator in Germany.

1959 Discharged from the army and back in New York; worked part-time in studio of William Syzdek.

1960 Made series of photographs in New York subway; realized these pictures were significantly different from previous work, and for the first time thought of photography as a vocation and further realized that America was my subject.

1961 Worked as reporter-photographer for newspaper in Watertown, New York. Married Gale Davis. Recalled to army during Berlin Crisis.

1962 Stationed at Ayer, Massachusetts; did series of photographs of houses. Transferred to Ozark, Alabama, and discharged from army. Went to New Orleans and worked part-time for industrial photographer, Jack Beech, and began New Orleans series of photographs.

1963 Moved to Chicago, worked part-time for Ebony Magazine, and as freelance photographer. Made Chicago series of photographs.

1964 Moved to Watertown, New York; opened photography studio; made series of photographs of Watertown and surrounding area known as the North Country.

1966 Moved to Detroit and worked for one year in advertising studio, then as free-lance photographer; started Detroit pictures.

1967 During convalescence after riding accident in Arizona reviewed complete work and discovered the orientation it had taken and what, in my view, would be the most effective way to proceed.

1968 Introduced to the writings of J. Krishnamurti, beginning a line of study that still goes on.

1969 Birth of son, Vincenzo.

1970 Completed Detroit photographs.

1971, Visiting Associate Professor of Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Separated from family.

1971 Awarded John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship. Began project, American Landscapes. Met Nadia Godowsky and began relationship which eventually led to marriage, three children and six grandchildren, and has continued into the present.

1972 Publication of New American People with an introduction by Hugh Edwards (Morgan & Morgan). Heard series of talks by J. Krishnamurti that catalyzed a profound shift of consciousness that eventually led to an abandonment of photography and a primary focus on meditation and a meditative life. Moved to a cabin in Northern New York on Lake Ontario. Continued to work on American Landscapes project during winters, traveling extensively throughout the United States.

1977 Birth of daughter, Francesca.

1980 First formal Zen training at Rochester Zen Center. Purchased and moved to land in the Los Padres National Forest, ten miles northwest of Ojai, California.

1981 Birth of daughter, Marica.

1981 Began Riinzai Zen training at Mount Baldy Zen Center with Joshua Sasaki Roshi. Started clearing land and construction of workshop and house. No photography since mid-seventies.

1984 Birth of son, Andrei.

1985 We survive great forest fire that sweeps through our canyon and surrounding area.

1989 First Soto Zen training at Jikoji Zen Center with Kobun Chino Otagawa Roshi.

1990 Opening of meditation center called Blue Heron Ojai Zendo.

1991 Publication of book AMERICAN LANDSCAPES together with photographer Mark Sandrof, Panopticon Press.

1996 Begin working with Reichean therapist John Davis and shaman Brooks GreeneBarton.

1997 Begin three-year training in somatic psychology with Raja Selvam and Peter Levine.

2000 Changed name of meditation center to Blue Heron Center for Integral Studies. At the request of son, Andrei, went on two-week photography trip using rather crude digital equipment. First time photographing in many years.

2001 Purchased professional digital equipment and begin photographing in earnest, shooting exclusively in color; first time ever using color for serious work. Began project called Just Looking, which is ongoing.

2005 Andrei loses his life attempting to cross our river during severe storm conditions.

2011 Just Looking project continues and seems to be morphing
into a somewhat different work which is not yet clearly defined.