In 1950, five years after the second world war ended, I was born in Prague, the most beautiful city on Earth - in communist-controlled Czechoslovakia. I didn't have a camera as a child, yet I have a vivid imprint of this city in the grey matter of my brain - its spires, old cobblestone streets, cascading gardens and baroque churches . . .

     At a graphic design school housed in an old building at the foot of Petrin Hill, overlooking the pear orchards and the presidential castle, I studied packaging technique. After the Russian invasion in 1968, I left Czechoslovakia with my parents, and we were granted political asylum in the Netherlands. We settled in The Hague, and I decided to continue my graphic design studies at the Royal Dutch Academy of Art. After graduating, I worked for Tel Design, one of the preeminent design studios in the country.

     In 1981, a year after immigrating to the US, I became the art director of Women's Sports & Fitness magazine near San Francisco. When my daughter was born, I took a leave of absence, completely missed the computer revolution, and picked up a camera. Honing the photography skills I acquired during my graphic design schooling, I snapped photos of everything in sight, but mainly of my daughter. About eighteen years ago, I was finally ready to go back to school and trade in my cut-and-paste repertory for computer tools. I exchanged the old Minolta for a digital Nikon, and a magical, new world opened . . .

     From 2001 until 2015, I worked as a contract photographer, specialized in architecture, for the Palo Alto Weekly newspaper. I have developed a clientele that keeps me busy designing websites and photographing their pets, children, families, weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, fundraisers, graduations, corporate/community events, new/remodeled homes, commercial buildings, and wineries. I live in Medford, Oregon, with my partner, Leonardo, and with our mini poodle Coco, a rescue from Tijuana.