For those of you that don't know, and I'm sure that's the majority of you, my first name really is "ffolkes", lowercase f's and all. That's right, just when you thought it couldn't be any more peculiar, you find out the two lower-case f's are intentional. I was named after the 1980 movie "ffolkes" starring Roger Moore.

Some people may thing this to be a beneficial thing, but believe me, it isn't. It's nice to have a unique first name, but it's downhill from there. I envy people that can just say "Hi, I'm John Doe" and not have to repeat, spell, write down, and otherwise relentlessly explain what strange sound is coming from my mouth when asked for my name. This becomes particularly annoying when, for example, I call T-Mobile and they need to verify my account information. So far 7 minutes and 43 seconds is my record – as if the customer service representative is hoping to score big points by catching “folkes” red handed trying to pay “ffolkes'” cell phone bill. But, I digress.

Hopefully by now you've gathered that I enjoy photography. Specifically, digital photography. I know a lot of people think that using anything but film is “cheating” and “not real photography” but I disagree. The advantages of digital imaging far outnumber those of traditional film in all but a handful of unusual circumstances. And in my limited experience I've noticed a lot of photographic enthusiasts tend to still use traditional methods because of the challenges it offers, whereas with digital it's a lot easier to get good results, with less effort.

Why? Because using a digital medium allows for more flexibility in nearly every situation. The ability to change ISO without the time consuming process of changing a roll of film, the ability to instantly transmit an image of a war-torn nation for the cover page of a newspaper thousands of miles away, the ability to take a photo and immediately see the result. And while several decades of refinement have led to film cameras that are more user friendly, film is still a fragile medium. One tragic drop of a film camera could result in the irreversible destruction of all the images stored on that roll of film.

And with the increasing cost of film, people are forced to “make each picture” count, which in turn makes losing a roll of film sting all the more. But with digital, after the snap of the shutter, the images leave their worldly bodies behind and become nothing more than a series of 1's and 0's which are then stored on memory cards. It takes a lot to destroy an industry standard CompactFlash card – not even burning jet fuel amongst 110 floors of concrete and steel could take out this card. And some digital cameras even have optional wireless (802.11b) attachments which can transmit these 1's and 0's to a base station, and then to anywhere in the world, all within seconds. All of these advantages appeal to photographers who have to have to deliver results, and on a schedule.

On the other hand, film photography will never become extinct. It's an art in itself, and that's what will always keep it alive. It takes talent combined with years, if not decades, of experience with film to master the art of exposure. To be able to enter a scene, and leave with properly exposed film, capturing everything you saw in your mind, down to every last detail, all without actually seeing the image you took until you get it developed.

I'm sure you've heard enough about my opinions on photography in general.

Now, for a little about myself – this is the About page after all. I was born, raised, and still live in New Jersey. I went to elementary and middle school at Chapin School, and for high school I decided to break the mold of society and educate myself at home (aka “homeschooling”). Obviously, photography is one of my primary interests, but I also enjoy web page and graphics design, as well as pretty much anything to do with computers. For the past five years I've been involved in a project that provides moderated chat environments for celebrity fan websites.

Since March 2003 I've been going to the Late Night Series, a weekly event at Mercer County Community College which showcases local artists, and photographing them. So far the “Unofficial Late Night Series Archives” contains about 9,000 photos from over 31 nights, each averaging about 150 photos, all of which are available for your viewing enjoyment here. There's a fairly good chance you already know about the Late Night Series (LNS) , otherwise you would never have known about me, or this site. But, in the event you don't know about it, check it out, it's certainly worth your time.