My life in photography has always been a search to find beauty and meaning within the simple truth of every day life. Classically trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art I recast my love of the painterly vision with a pictorial approach through photography. For the past thirty years I have maintained the tradition of black and white film photography and masterfully crafted gelatin silver prints. Doing all of my own processing and printing I achieved a diversity of subtle colors from my black and white photographs through darkroom toning processes with the addition of hand painting.

The fleeting charms of infancy and the radiance of childhood have been a continuous source of inspiration and have preoccupied me for much of my photographic decades. In the nineteen eighties I saw the potential for the rebirth of mundane family photography with rich black and white images that combined a refined aesthetic with a sense of humor. My intentions were fully realized with my 'Day in the Life' photo session and my baby salon soon became a favorite choice among New York families.

With the portrait as the focal point of my photography I expanded my reach. 'Neighborhood Goddess' is a tribute to the fresh energy of the everyday beauties that I befriended in my downtown neighborhood who had come to New York to realize their dreams. It is an homage to the days when woman happy to pose for my camera because it was fun and it was flattering.

'Portrait of an Artist' is a study of my husband and photographic playmate, Stephen Salmieri, who is a respected master photographer and my mentor. It was initiated on the day that we met and continued over the next forty years to the present. To my knowledge it is the longest photographic portrait project of an individual on record.

For twenty-five years I never left home without my 35mm camera in pursuit of the heart icon that I found in every way possible. The universally recognized symbol of love, friendship and good will speaks well for our entire human family.