“DJKender has always been fascinated by the nude female. He notes the distinction between naked - which for him means unclothed modesty and possible shame, and nude - which means unclothed open-mindedness, and unashamed beauty. It's nudes that fascinate him. In his quest, he eventually developed an interest in photography. And through a series of trial & error he developed as a photographer and as an artist. He also uses his photography skills in his day-job, so he is constantly shooting. But it's his personal work that really fires his passion and drive to capture the beauty that surrounds him.”

That is a direct quote from his photographic mentor, J.C. Gilbert.  DJ has transformed himself from narrow minded conservative to a much more open mindset as it relates to the female form.  He has paid his dues, quite literally, to be able to have the confidence that he now has. It has been a multi-year learning experience of trial and error, to have the confidence to now label himself a professional photographer.  He has transformed himself from some kid with a 110 in the early 90s to a man who, like any artisan, has honed his skills. 

With the digital age comes the ability to shed the hindrance of stopping to change roll after roll of film, plus development costs, to simply pop the medium into the computer and being editing immediately.  Along with the act of photography itself comes the editing at home.  While he does not understand the ability needed to be a painter, he has learned, through the act of photographic editing, the creativity they have.  Just as the photography is relaxing and even an endorphin-induced pleasure, so too is the creativity of editing. 

Since he was both financially strapped (that whole starving artist thing) and ignorant as to the proper photo editing software to seek, he has fared quite well with three surprisingly simple programs which have come to him virtually by accident.  One was on the CD of a $50 digital camera (a camera from the eBay days), another which was an add-on to a printer driver CD, and finally from searching Google and finding a wonderful package that they, Google, produce.

He takes an enormous pride in creating his art, and hopes that you'll find something in his portfolio that you would be proud to place into your home, office, or gallery.