UV: Do you conceptualize a piece beforehand, or give rein to spontaneity?
ZR: By nature I'm an overthinker, and I've learned that the more I can just shut off my brain, the freer my work becomes.

UV: Tell us about your method.
ZR: I go out on the street, see what catches my eye, get in close, and grab it. Later, in the darkroom, I let the perfectionist in me take over. So I guess it's afterthought rather than forethought.

UV: Describe your relationship to your medium.
ZR: Well, I do drawing and printmaking and other things, but what makes photography special is it has a built-in discipline, which prevents you from superimposing your own. The camera demands spontaneity, at least the way I use it. There's no time for artifice. It's all about capturing the moment.

UV: How often do you make work?
ZR: I'm always engaged in something, if not for other people then for my own personal gratification, and if not photography then something else. I'm sort of an art junkie.

UV: What is art?
ZR: Curiosity, fascination, delight, puzzlement. Exploring. Anything without an ulterior motive.