I have been exploring a number of directions over the last 6 years, since the release of Black & Whispers. My favorite subject continues to be the California landscape, and I have spent a week each year since 2001 photographing the Montana countryside, too, including Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and everything in between. These locations made up the content of my first 3 portfolios, and now I’m expanding my coverage of the western U.S. to include Nevada and Hawaii. Hopefully Oregon soon!

In May 2010, I completed a portfolio and book titled, “A Year in the Vineyard.” While my intention was a 50-50 split between black-and-white and color photographs, the body of work was dominated by color. Since then, I’ve been doing more color in general, and pushing far deeper into the abstract. As a finishing touch, I like printing on canvas for a more painterly look.

Instinctually, I evaluate a scene in black-and-white first, but if it’s not working, I shift to thinking about color. My primary color influences are Galen Rowell (landscape), David Gubernick (landscape, macro and lens painting), Rob Ellis (abstract and composition), Bert Ihlenfeld (abstract), Jim Kasson (lens painting), and Al Weber (landscape and aerial). I think if you stack each of their styles over a lens, like filters, you get the Zmak color filter.

These diverse directions will eventually emerge as finished portfolios and exhibits over the next few years, the first of which will likely be a book of my black and white photography in 2012.