Actually, when I first started dabbling in photography, I was still working for my parents as a salesman.

Generally, the French highly promote culture and the arts, and photography is in their blood.

That's why I felt so at home when I went to Africa. It didn't matter that I was halfway around the world in a foreign country, because all those elements are universal. And I think that's one thing about my work: It's universal.

Within two hours of where I live, you have mountains and desert as location. I like the natural elements that abstract into light, texture, shape and shadow.

For me, the most important thing I learned was just honing my eye. I think I had a good eye.

I'm pretty selective. I generally edit the contact sheets and then do work prints. Because I have my own lab and printers, I can afford the luxury of going through the contact sheets for black-and-white, making up work prints, seeing them big, and honing them down.