Duration: Just over three years. I spent fifteen years at various agencies in Chicago as an art director before I made the switch to commercial photographer.

Staff: My first assistant Bruce Kendall and my agent Freda Scott.

Education: I spent those fifteen years as an art director working eyeball to eyeball with the top commercial photographers and film directors in the world. That was an education.

Cultural Influences: Original thinkers.

Environment: I work out of a 137-year-old lighthouse (still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation) along the frayed coast of the Pacific just south of San Francisco. OK, not really. My location is in my head and wherever projects tend to take me. My real working environment is wherever the best location for the project happens to be. Good coffee is, of course, always nearby.

Philosophy: Exceed all expectations. Don't be a jerk in the process.