A few words about me....

Photography is my thing, although I have a love of all things visual. In high school I was on the school magazine staff and was never happier than when making design decisions and wielding a camera.

My college education started at Midlands Technical College in commercial graphics and printing technologies. While there, I built a solid foundation in the printing industry and discovered that I wanted to take it one step further after graduation.

I entered the University of South Carolina and majored in Visual Communications. The “VisCom” major, as we refer to it, has instilled basic journalistic ethics while expanding my knowledge of graphic design, video, photography and interactive media.

travel photography...

Bumming around Europe and documenting my adventures via photography is the most rewarding and fulfilling activity I have ever engaged myself in. Travel photography exploits both my romantic and explorative natures. Pretending I am photographing for a travel magazine is a favorite game of mine.

I cannot think of anything I would rather do- other than teach photography. Being in a completely alien land is very inspiring. Seemingly mundane subjects like windows or sidewalks take on a new life. In all of my photography I try very hard to incorporate unexpected angles and crops. Even overly photographed subjects like the Eiffel Tower or the London Eye can seem new again if composed the right way.

I believe that I have an eye for color and light and like to explore those elements. I sometimes jokingly refer to myself as a “lazy photographer” as I like capturing with available light and I do not like to manipulate the scene. Even though I have been experimenting with studio work recently, my calling is to explore foreign places and reveal what I find. I strive to bring the viewer into the experience with me and show him something unexpected or overlooked.

current series... "In This Skin"

I have always been fascinated with nudity and the ideas that people have about it. I wanted to know why people seem to accept nudity as art in black and white; but if it is in color, somehow it becomes naughty. Before we became aware of our own sexuality, we were just nude. That is one aspect I really enjoy about Sally Mann’s work.

At the core, her work is innocent and beautiful. It only becomes controversial when people come to it with preconceptions. In the planning stages, I sought to emulate Mann’s work. That idea changed after I saw that similar preconceptions were dictating my work. I wanted color, as that is how we encounter life. I wonder how we would view her past work in color.

At the heart of my project, it is a color nude photographic figure study. I am exploring the differences between studio and natural environments and what our bodies say about us. Classic black and white studies do not seem to capture what I am after: the imperfections, scars, acne, stretch marks, and experiences of real people. Everyone has something they like and hate about their body and it has absolutely nothing to do with intercourse.

Thanks for taking a look around. I invite all questions, comments and general discourse about photography and design. And of course, I’m always interested in new work and new experiences.