I have been influenced most by the evolution of “street photography” and those photographers making up the broad genre. As early as the 1880's Peter Henry Emerson began photographing his natural outdoor environment and was a pioneer in establishing photography as art. The recognition of photography as art was an important step in understanding its potential; this has allowed the medium's inherently literal content to be paired with the artist's view being subjective and poetic. I am inspired by exterior world and its surprises.
I walk out the door with my camera and film holders ready for anything to strike me. I work through intuition moving slowly, politely, and calmly. My editing process is where I start to see patterns and themes in the work. The larger a body of work I have the stronger the final sequence can be, so I am constantly photographing and editing. I have never felt finished with body of work which agrees with my belief in no absolutes.
I have worked in the same mode for about two years with a growing knowledge of the medium's nuances. It has been necessary to employ psycho-analysis upon myself to further the development of my thoughts. The reasons for my own decisions should not go unexplored. With every photograph there are words that connect the content to the overarching idea behind the work; the greatest difficulty is to select the photographs that convey a message that I am not writing but that a viewer can derive themselves.
I enjoy interacting with people. The way in which I approach my subject creates dialog that is momentary and honest. I get smiles and deadpan gazes, each expression rich with drama. I am looking for drama in all things, it is the link between landscape and and its inhabitants.
For the series The Least Predictable Forecast- These photographs are the deconstruction of a landscape that is becoming familiar. Washington, D.C. is my home and by photographing my neighborhood I am able to feel more integrated. My purpose is to evoke curiosity by testing streets, alleyways, and porches for the mood, the unknown, and the light. I am a selector and a searcher, unifying my vision of Washington D.C. and composing a record of experience.
A literary mentor, William Carlos Williams instructs: “By listening to his language of his locality the poet begins to learn his craft. It is his function to lift, by use of imagination and the language he hears, the material conditions and appearances of his environment to the sphere of the intelligence where they will have new currency.”
Black and white film allows me to emphasize light and content with an inherent nostalgia. By using a large-format camera each photograph receives consideration. I move slowly and with tact as I interact with my community; these sections of space are my documented footprint.
Finding Resonance
“Not to know, but to let exist what is, that alone, perhaps, is truly to know”.
– Alfred Stieglitz
I see public space as the entry point to local culture. Walking around Petworth, my neighborhood in Washington, D.C., I am introduced to an urban residential neighborhood. Streets, alleyways, and porches hold evidence of life: settings looked upon with curiosity. My place within the community is slowly unveiled with each new walk.
