Many of the photos in this exhibit were originally taken with Nikon SLR film cameras as slide transparencies and later scanned for digital editing and printing. Images taken over the last four years are digital, once again with Nikon SLR cameras. We use Apple computers and Photoshop is our main editing software. When using transparency or slide film, the capture of the image was the end of the process and we did no further editing. With our transition to the digital media, the photos in this exhibit became a two-person process. Taking the photo became only a part of the process as the digital darkroom, the computer, allowed both of us to be involved in the editing and shaping of each image. In that sense they belong to us both.

One of the biggest challenges we faced in the making of many of these photographs was that we were rarely ever afforded the luxury of being just photographers and waiting for the perfect moment. We have often played dual roles as builders and photographers making it necessary to be highly flexible. We had to develop the capacity to simultaneously build and supervise while remaining vigilant for those moments when content, mood and light would coalesce. When that happened, our hands were often covered with mud making it necessary to keep both our equipment and methods simple. Most everything in this exhibit was hand-held. Rarely was a tripod used. Perhaps the most important ingredient in the making of these images was that we became friends with our subjects first and photographers second.