The "Infrared" series was conceived in a round-about inspiration from my yearly visits back to my home town in Vermont. I had grown up experiencing four dramatic seasons of clean air and majestic landscapes. The one and only time I went back for a winter vacation after moving to Cali, I was captivated by the stark black and white vistas when the sunlight crept through the heavy gray overcast. The snow on those days seemed to glow with its own aura of white on white.
Shortly after I returned to Los Angeles, I began to photograph a number of storefront display windows at night for a year in each of what we call our "four seasons" along Melrose Avenue, Rodeo Drive and Sunset Blvd. Using fickle, but effective, b/w infrared film to recapture the glow I saw naturally in Vermont, I would typically set up my tripod, make a few images, bracket my exposures and focus ring, re-adjust the composition, etc. and walked on or drove to the next display. After finishing my circuit usually after midnight, I would develop the film and do a proof sheet in anticipation of magic. Results were more flops than glory in the beginning, but I persevered and would try to return the next evening to any potential sight before the display would be replaced, which indeed had changed more than a few times.
It was an enjoyable, satisfying yearlong project. It also was a social experience interacting with many curious bystanders, especially older people walking their dogs who would stop to chat and shake their heads when I explained I didn't work for that particular company to commercially photograph their displays, but in the hope of creating some"art".