the vast deserts of the Mojave, Colorado and Black Rock regions
and across the Atlantic to Europe.
All images are available as limited edition museum quality prints.
Exhibition inquiries are welcome.
1963 in Yonkers, New York. In May 1963 his
family relocated to Gardena, California, a few
miles west of downtown Los Angeles. He
acquired his first 35mm camera in 1980,
which he used avidly to document his natural
and cultural surroundings in southern
California, eventually amassing a large body
of work. He first studied photography as a
Fine Art in 1983 at Saddleback College in
Mission Viejo, California, where he explored
techniques under the mentorship of
Professor Jerry Burchfield. While at
Saddleback, he exhibited his work for the first
time, winning the Purchase Award in the
colleges juried exhibition entitled "Art on the
Edge". In Spring of 1986, Ciaffa enrolled in
the Creative Photography program at Cal
State University, Fullerton, where he studied
under Eileen Cowan and Darryl Curran.
He received his B.A. from that program in 1989.
In 1990, Ciaffa relocated to Sonoma County,
California, where in 1992 he met his wife,
Katrin. In 1993, he moved to Hamburg,
Germany, where he compiled an extensive
photographic diary during his two-year stay.
Since returning to Sonoma County in 1995,
Ciaffa's work has been been exhibited at
a number of local Fine Art galleries, festivals
and other venues. In 2004 he had his first solo
exhibition "a documentary of stills" at the 29
Palms gallery in 29 Palms, California. In
Summer 2006 his work was selected to appear
in the inaugural issue Emulsion Magazine.
He is also a founding member of the now
defunct Silverstone Gallery Co-op in Santa
Rosa, California, which was dedicated to
showing local Fine Art photography and
sculpture. He has also been a member of
Santa Rosa's Camera Art Committee, a local
Fine Art photography festival which
celebrated it's 5th year in 2003. In 2003
he also founded the Sonoma County Critique
Group, in which local photographers meet
quarterly to discuss their work.
