Growing up in Colorado, I was drawn to the rhythm of the mountains, texture of the aspen tree groves, and fractal patterns in the lichens. I tried to isolate those elements with the flattened perspective of my telephoto lens or close-ups with my macro lens. Something was intriguing and comforting in these abstractions, and that feeling continues to this day as well as the quest for abstractions in nature and man-made objects. On reflection, behind the quest for abstraction was a theory that everything has at least two levels - the thing itself and its abstraction. This theory led to a life-long study of philosophy, mathematics, and physics to better understand this “objective duality” as the instinct behind my images and life. If I could paint, I would be an abstract expressionist painter; but I cannot, so my camera is my brush and palette to capture these images and concepts. Last year my son told me, “Dad, it doesn’t count if no one can see your pictures except looking at your screensaver.” So I enrolled in a digital post-processing class to re-apply the Ansel Adams zone system per my original film photography instruction. I strive to capture abstractions from both nature and man-made objects as much as possible in-camera and with only light post-processing.