By convention there is sweetness, by convention bitterness, by convention color, in reality only atoms and the void"

—Democritus (c.460–370 BC)

Hey! I'm J-M! I've been taking pictures since the day I officially became a man (i.e. I got my first camera as a bar mitzvah present, a little Canonet that still hangs in a place of honor in my studio).  

Photography is probably the most consistent single thread in my life, a key way for me to make sense of my world through my adolescence in South Africa, years of travel in India and South Asia, the '90s in New York, extensive wanderings through South America, and now my semi-rural existence in the woods north of NYC.

For most of my photography life I've been a devoted, serious amateur. This has liberated me to follow my own curiosity at my own pace, to be experimental and playful, without the demands of "earning a living from it".

In the meanwhile, I've been earning that living doing a bunch of different things. For a few years I worked for a human rights group in South Africa, during the dark waning days of apartheid. I paralegaled in NY for a while, and then worked as a photo assistant for a couple of years, doing mainly showbiz and fashion work. Which I didn't love. Then... the internet came, and since the mid-'90s I've been earning my keep as a user experience designer, working for a variety of ad agencies, for some reason mainly French. Go figure. 

I'm married to Duston Spear, a formidable artist, filmmaker, educator and writer. We share our home with two Boston Terriers, Tilda and Matéo, and during the summer you can find me in my vegetable garden!

PS: This website was started in 2008, and after enjoying a few-year heyday fell into rack and ruin. The reinvigorated site was relaunched in March, 2018.