In my teens I became fascinated with how things worked. Interest in science, history, and art allowed me to see a different type of world and to open my mind. When I wasn't working with my father to repair a television or an electrical item, I would spend my time going to movies, listening to music, and going to museums. Movies and museums made me fall in love with the visual arts. My parents noticed my new interest. My father, Joseph, showed me some illustrations he had done of an African-American Santa. He shared how his father, Joseph Reed, Sr., had owned a greeting card business publishing holiday cards for the African-American community. The business was sold because of the Great Depression. While learning about this heritage, Uncle Ronnie returned from Vietnam and began attending art school. Seeing a relative choose an artistic path influenced my own interest in the visual arts. In 1977 I sought out a career in photography.

At the Art Institute of Pittsburgh I began to study about the great painters and photographers. Studies included Ansel Adam’s “zone system” which led me to develop into a highly competent darkroom technician. The zone system taught me to push media and create dynamic color and black and white images. However, I still felt limited in what I was trying to achieve. One day I read about a software called Dark Element; later renamed Photoshop. Immediately I saw the potential of this new technology. Unfortunately, I was living on the wrong coast at the wrong time. After several years and the purchase of a used Apple computer, along with the help of my friend Zipora, I realized my dream of learning Photoshop. Photoshop opened a whole new world of digital image creation. I started revisiting my analog images to create them anew. It was during this time that I rediscovered my own city of Philadelphia!

While using these new technologies, I began studying the works of my fellow African-American photographers. At that point I only knew about James Van Der Zee and Gordon Parks. One day I heard that Gordon Parks was coming to Philadelphia to celebrate the anniversary of the Mt Airy Learning Tree, his book "The Learning Tree" and his movie of the same title. I got to hear him talk about growing up in a highly segregated America and being a black photographer. Gordon would not allow barriers to stop him. He found a way to live his dream and passion. Gordon’s speech inspired me as a photographer and to dig deeper into history. I discovered more African-American photographers but was unable to locate many examples of their work. This changed when I found the book "Reflection In Black" by Deborah Willis. In Willis' book I discovered Jules Lion of New Orleans(1840’s) and other African-American photographers (both men and women) who were creating daguerreotype portraits of post-slavery black culture. The book also introduced me to other past and modern day photographers: Carrie Mae Weems, Ron Tarver, and many more.

This exposure led me to an interest in documentary photography. I wanted to tell stories photographically with a non- judgmental eye. I stopped doing weddings and started looking for stories. I wanted to get to know my subjects and their lives. It became important for me to capture moments of time when my subjects were at their most honest. I have learned to combine a passion for technology and art into a particular vision of my own. This is a never-ending journey of discovery. I look forward to a future of expanding and researching new projects.