My interest and passion for photography began in my teens, when I took a photography class at Bayside High School. I learned to compose images, take the photos, and develop the film in a darkroom. I was hooked. The process was magical, from beginning to end. I pursued my interest in photography in college, when I decided to go to art school (School of Visual Arts), and attained a BFA in photography. At the School of Visual Arts, I was immersed in and studied the majestic photography of Ansel Adams, and the street photography of Lee Friedlander, Gary Winogrand, and Duane Michaels, who I was fortunate to have as a guest professor. I supported myself by driving a NYC Checker cab, and decided to incorporate my night job into my day studies by conceiving a project for SVA where I photographed my passengers and they photographed me. Reluctant to bring an expensive camera in the cab with me, and thinking that immediacy of the image was an important element of the project, I used an Instamatic camera. I photographed this rotating set passengers over a period of a year. I always explained the project and the fact that I was an art student. Most of my passengers were just anonymous New Yorkers or out-of-towners, who almost unanimously were game. Some would pose, some wanted candids, some wanted their photo snapped outside on the street, some felt more comfortable remaining in the safety of the back seat. Occasionally, a celebrity would hail my cab—one time it was Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul, and Mary). Another night, I picked up the iconic Surrealist artist Salvador Dali, who heartily agreed to be photographed. One day, I described my project to a passenger who turned out to be Richard Shepard, a columnist for the New York Times. He was intrigued by the concept and asked if he could interview me. That led to an article about me in the New York Times, and my subsequent “15 minutes of fame”. As time passed, I realized that trying to support myself as a full-time artist in NYC was quite the uphill battle, and, to be honest, the cabbie gig was wearing thin. I started to think about a potential pivot in my career choice. Always interested in psychology, I returned to graduate school to study psychotherapy, earning a MSW degree. I have now been a psychotherapist for over 40 years. I have always believed that my photography background has made me a better therapist. And being a therapist has made me a more interesting photographer. Both fields rely on examination, introspection, interpretation and exploration.