David Lebe's work has an almost poetic quality to it; strong but sensitive, colorful and filled with personal nuance. His use of light is both unusual and extraordinary.

Lebe has an arresting collection of images, including neon-like still lifes and dream-like nudes. In his "light drawings", he literally draws an image with a penlight while the camera records his efforts during long exposures. In his photograms -- photographic images made without a camera or negative by using light directly on photographic paper-- he uses flora as a focus against brilliant, otherworldly backgrounds he paints with watercolors. While the two techniques are nearly opposite, Lebe uses both to manipulate time and perspective, arriving at extremely personal visions.

David Lebe's first ambitions were to become a photojournalist, traveling the world and capturing its joys and pains. But after a few assignments, he discovered his artistic temperament lay somewhere else. He then turned from illustrating public events to recording his own private feelings and struggles.

He began experimenting with light in a series of self-portraits. At first, these photographs relied heavily on the light lines and included few details. "Until the age of 25, my life was about keeping secrets," he says of the darkness in his early work. Deciding to be honest with himself and his work, Lebe's photographs evolved from the dark tension of his early self- portraits, to beautiful hand colored nudes and vivid, colorful still-lifes which radiate with positive energy.

David Lebe's work has been widely exhibited and published. He is included in many collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The J. Paul Getty Museum, among others. He has traveled and lectured throughout the United States.