Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a limited budget or you are looking for something specific I would be happy to work with you. You can get a hold of me via my contact page and we can hammer out some details of what your needing or looking for.

I am willing to give it a try to see how well it works. If you are interested please let me know via my contact page and we can figure something out for you.

Now as a fore warning I do work full at another job so, I would reasonably like to say 2 – 4 weeks including shipping times.  This allows me to make sure that the printing is as good as I can get it and to make sure I have the materials on hand.

It honestly depends upon the size of the print, matting, and frame.  For a rough shot in the dark a 14 by 11 inch print with appropriate matting and the frame itself would be $150.  Prints by themselves signed and authorized would be of course much cheaper.  If you are looking for a custom size or something specific please send me a message.

Weirdly the United States Postal Service does a remarkable job in terms of cost for shipping and would recommend them.  However if you prefer a different service such as UPS or Fed-Ex, I would be happy to accommodate you as best as I can.

The print service I order from uses Fujicolor Crystal Archive photographic paper. The neat thing about this paper is that it is a resin-based paper which is very resistant to fading.  A print with proper care can last an estimated 50 – 60 years before losing any color.

I do have a fairly involved full time job so time constraints can be problematic.  But from time to time I do take on other projects that are outside of my normal range.  But this is usually on a basis of friends and family situation or something piqued my interest.

I prefer digital over film, mostly because of the costs involved. A good lightning image in a storm that is cooperating takes what could be described as a heavy amount of exposures to catch. Out of a good night I might end up with a couple hundred exposures. And out of those only 20-30 might be really interesting or have something of merit. Out of those, only one or two might be really good. Hence, digital makes sense because the development costs alone for film in this subject makes it worthwhile.

This does not mean I will not use film and in fact have a couple very special projects that require it.

I will not sugar coat this but some of those lightning images involved some rather dangerous storms.  But lightning in general can be unpredictable in not only how it strikes but also obviously where.  When photographing lightning you always have to have an awareness for how the storm is moving and also a great sense of when it’s time to get under cover.  There have been a couple times when I decided it was best to not even head out and was the wiser for it.

As for the fire pictures, a very good understanding of how materials behave while either being on fire or heated irregularly is a must.  Glass especially has a nasty habit of shattering when heated or cooled rapidly in a small location.

Almost all of the lightning shots are done in and around my home city of Salina Kansas.  The fire images are also ironically done much to the dismay of my family in the backyard.  You will also notice other locations that may crop up including Colorado and Hawaii.