I fell in love with New York City during my first visit here from the Midwest. I loved the motion, the activity, the newness and immediacy. I was also in awe as I learned more of the history and enduring meaning of the city. In What of New York and Poetry? Eli Siegel describes what I felt then and feel now, when he said of New York, "There are twirls and manifestations; surprises within the absolute."

As I photograph in and around the city, it is always, I have learned, the opposites in reality—as Aesthetic Realism describes them—in objects, a situation, or a street scene that are affecting me. Knowing this has made me a more careful and thoughtful observer. I am grateful as photographer and person for that. And I have seen that when the opposites come together as one in a composition, it makes for a successful photograph.