His formal training is in science and engineering where he works to develop consumer and medical products. His early artistic interests included black and white film photography, a medium that allowed control of the photographic process from taking the picture to the making of prints. He kept a basement darkroom while raising a family in Scituate Massachusetts. Now, the Shapiro wet darkroom is gone, replaced by software, and ink-jet printers, he continues to control his picture making process and, in the digital age, he controls his color as well as his black and white photographs.