Thanks to its infinite possibilities, photography is an open door, granting amazing opportunities to anyone involved; therefore, being the explorer and curious person that I am, this multi-faceted medium has naturally been a fascination and part of my life for as long as I can remember.
Photography’s openness draws me in and keeps me afloat; it inspires my growth and development, promoting experimentation, innovation, perspective and understanding – letting me employ it as a tool to not only explore ideas and come to conclusions, but also to meet new people and build relationships, introduce me to new places and situations, and as an overall method to experiencing life. As such, my work offers a glimpse into my mind, thereby allowing people to see through my eyes; the direction of my lens shreds light upon what I consider important, illustrating the themes I want to question or call attention to, or the information that I want to spread.
In spite of this deceiving statement, messages in my work may not be instantly comprehensible or apparent to viewers. A quote I once heard from an exhibition guide states, “Some photographs are not meant to be understood, but felt.”
Some people feel that photographs must send a direct message in order to be effective – however, this quote helps contradict that stereotype by suggesting that not all images aim to transmit precise messages, seeking rather to elicit an emotional response or inspire thought and reflection. Because my personal and artistic photography reflects either a mental process, a question, or a moment of inspiration, it aims to evoke in the viewer what it expresses – a pause, either in reaction to or of thought about, maybe even with a new appreciation for, the subject presented – while at the same time being a beautiful image. Through photography, I hope to challenge today’s busy, constantly moving world and help people to take a moment to slow down, observe and reflect without the stress of getting to the next thing or meeting a deadline in order to acknowledge, enjoy, understand or contemplate something that would have otherwise been ignored or forgotten.
Great, or beautiful, photographs play at the relationship between balance and tension of aesthetic dichotomies, such as subject matter/composition, formal/informal properties, color (or lack thereof)/contrast, pose/spontaneity, nature/contrivance, cliché/uniqueness, truth/fiction, etc.
A few major, overarching visual concepts or themes my creative process and artistic work attempts to explore include: aesthetic drama (e.g. harsh contrast/lighting, over-saturated colors, HDR), scale and in/out of context (everything from close ups to long distance, juxtaposition, questioning the importance of where a photo was taken), abstraction/painterly/experimental (e.g. in/out of focus/depth of field), serendipity (e.g. chance, candid, otherwise unnoticed details, etc.), and “stereotypical photography” (e.g. sunsets, flowers, etc.).
Photography does not exist in only one context; as such, I have used and continue to use it in many areas, such as photojournalism, social/cultural recording/studies, architecture and travel photography, in addition to fine art, portraiture, fashion, macro, conceptual work, and more. I shoot from the perspectives above, even when shooting documentary and journalism, however I also maintain a set of journalistic ethics and attempt to remain fair in treatment and portrayal of the subject, thus aspects such as abstraction or too much post-production would not apply in order to keep the photos as true as possible. On the other hand, photography is, by nature, subjective and should always be viewed and accepted with caution since truth is in the eye of the beholder and the voice of individual.
Because the photographic medium allows for so much variety and I have applied it in such vastly different contexts, I do not disclaim or devalue particular genres, instead choosing to recognize and accept that we all participate in making and loving even the most banal of images.