I created this image in 2004 with my Canon Digital Rebel, in New Brunswick. I got up early to catch the light at the exact right time, and I guess I was successful; I do like this image.

However, this is the kind of subject matter that I find hard to deal with; how does one try to say something new, instead of ending up with a pretty cliche, such as this image?

The true measure of a photographer is what he or she can  do with subject matter that is not pretty. For me, a perfect example of this is Irving Penn’s cigarette butt still life. If an artist can make a cigarette butt interesting, I’d say that’s a pretty good measure of the talent involved.