Bernd saw a brief statement I had made to Mike Anton of the LA Times. He then looked up my work to find out who I was and sent me a note that our pictures, or our efforts to make them, had some things in common. They certainly do.

If you think that Bernd's gaze here is penetrating and supremely focused on my lens, you should see him when he looks at your pictures. His encouragement is generous and his criticism is precise and encompassing.

When I show Bernd a picture, I get two questions (which he expects the very best pictures to answer for me on their own):

"Who are you?"

"What is this?"