Why Stairway Photography?
Well, it’s a God Thing: Early one morning, when I was sitting high on a stairway, drinking coffee and looking out over a small Mexican town, a voice strongly suggested that I had photography work to do here. And that the collective name for my work should be Stairway Photography.
Not exactly a burning bush, but still. Not a good idea to mess with the voice.
It’s a practical thing: Most photographers use their own names in their websites, but new people I meet rarely remember how to spell Simmelink.
It’s a story-telling thing: At night, when I was very little and couldn’t sleep, I used to sneak nearly to the bottom of the stairs. I’d sit quietly behind the curtain hung at the bottom of the stairway. And I’d listen to the adults talk. You can learn a lot that way, and develop a yen for story telling.
Then, of course, there’s Led Zeppelin, with their mysterious “she” who was climbing the stairway to heaven.
As for “About Me,” I’m a photographer who, after many years, is finally starting to take my photographic work more seriously (thank you, my photo group friends.) I’m a writer who learns about atrial fibrilation and robotic thymectomy and makes a living translating what I’ve learned into common language for people who just want to understand what is happening to them.
What else?
Well, I’m a family person blessed with a supportive nuclear family and a boisterous extended family. And a friend person who could not survive on this planet without my friends.
I like to read and travel and stick my toes into cold rivers on warm days. I make damn good guacamole, play a decent hand of poker and will struggle on to learn a few more words in Spanish.
My heart is at peace when I lift my camera, and I appreciate the many people willing to look straight into the lens and share, for a moment, a part of themselves.