Authenticity
Authentic imagery can never be obtained through insincere intent.
Clarity
Like most artists I struggle with many facets of my own work. Perhaps the most difficult personal questions have been “Just where is my work going? What does it mean? What do I plan to do with my photography?” In the beginning, just producing an acceptable photograph was enough. Then it was rediscovering so many of the venues around me that I had taken for granted, but was able to look anew at the wondrous world around me. That morphed into a personal need for artistic recognition. My goals then metastasized into the pursuit of name recognition in my own small world. But as with all things that encase a quest for recognition, a hollow feeling ensues as quickly as those fleeting moments of recognition.
Read More»A New Day
It has been a very long time since I have held hope in American Politics. Tonight for the first time since my awe of John Kennedy, I have hope for our Nation. This past year I have for the first time in my life had the privilege of knowing individuals who are close friends from outside my own country. I was often shocked to hear that although they liked American people as individuals, they do NOT like our government. And although those opinions were sometimes hard for me to hear, their perceptions often paralleled my own views of the many mistakes we make as a nation.
I was pleased to see that our Nation got what we deserved tonight; hope, enthusiasm and optimism for our future. And it was with equal pride that my own children voted for the very first time in a Presidential election, one of historic proportions. With almost 80% of eligible voters exercising their rights, I was not alone in my desire for change. And although the headline is that Barack Obama is our first African American President, for me that is not the most historic aspect, although that fact is now a part of American History. No, President Obama is someone who for the very first time that I can relate to as President.
I have never been more hopeful and honored to be an American.
Windows – A Series Oct 13 through 19th
From the very first moment I viewed Jodi Cobb’s image of a young woman staring out onto a London street I was completely mesmerized and hooked. Unlike some of the imagery I viewed at the beginning of my photographic journey, I stil marvel at the feeling and atmosphere created by Ms. Cobb’s photograph. For the past four years I have chased my dream of recreating the feeling of that single image.
So today I start a small series that will run for seven consecutive days, Windows. I have begun working on a book that I will release at the end of the year which will contain the best of my window shots, the ones contained in this series, as well as those from my past and if I’m fortunate, future work.
I dream of one day having coffee with Ms. Cobb, perhaps in the very cafe where she captured this photo. I would want to speak to her about her craft, her feelings as she captures and makes her remarkable art and to simply thank her for the inspiration. You can read more about my personal heroine here.
I hope you enjoy this little series and if one day you spot a man who is ignoring all that is happening around him whilst looking toward a window, perhaps he’s viewed Cobb’s magical image as well.
Connecting
As many of you know, the vast majority of my imagery consists of complete strangers going about their daily lives. Although I find gratification in my work and I can occasionally offer strangers who I see again on the street the images I have made of them, there is a certain disappointment. Today I met with a man who I’ve only known online and with him was a young family who joined us for dinner in San Francisco. Since I was in the City to shoot all day, I naturally had my camera with me, as did Martin my new friend.
So I began to shoot Ed and his young family during dinner. And when I arrived home I was most excited to process those images rather than the ones I had taken for my work. The reason is simple. Being able to give someone images of those they love means much more to me than the pursuit of art. It was a reminder that the substance of one’s art means much more than any amount of accolades or material reward. Being able to offer someone something of personal value is its own reward.
