The work of Hilla and Bernd Becher is one of my earliest and most profound influences, as it is for many photographers and other artists. What is the influence? What is the attraction in art that is so matter-of-fact? The answer lies in one simple verb: Look. The Bechers created work in which the photographers are reticent, out of the way, letting the viewers take a look, a long, hard look.

Looking is at the heart of the Bechers' work, and it is the reason they used photography as their medium, because photography provides a long look. What I take from their work is my own interest in using photography to look long and hard--neither minimizing some appearances nor maximizing others--and thus to show (with any luck and if all goes well) how a calm, clear, and unconditional view of our surroundings is so wonderful. More and more, I am interested in practicing what Hilla called "direct, descriptive photography... clear, clean images--with a complete tonal range, with appropriate depths--devoted to the subject."

This series is still young (as of late October 2021). A couple of things are clear, though. One, my approach, much like that of the Bechers, will be two-fold: I'll use both distance shots, literally a long (and wide) look, as in the Construction Company Lot plates, and closer shots that close in a specific thing or things. Two, my subject matter, also much like that of the Bechers, will be industrial, but, unlike theirs, also relatively more urban although also less urban residential than most of my other work. I have some ideas for work beyond construction lots and sites: government buildings, automatic doorways on downtown buildings, escalators, street intersections, freeway barriers, freeway views from bridges... things that can represent my urban environment and that share somewhat similar symmetrical properties, lending themselves to Becher-like compositions and tonal ranges, and that share abstract commonalities that I can also exploit Becher-like in the compositions.