sweet nothing
It occurs one day. The realization that there is just about as much road ahead as there is behind. That you have made decisions that have put you on this seemingly unalterable course and the conclusion appears disturbingly clear.
21 images
domesticated
With this series of images, I examine domesticated urban plants and people's attempts to control and manipulate them in sometimes trivial and inconsequential ways. My hope is that these at times humorous and tragic examples echo conditions within the larger context of the relationship between humanity and nature. I also hope that the viewer can identify with certain human or anthropomorphic characteristics of the subjects, perhaps feeling a bit saddened by their subjugated circumstances.
choreographed slide show (30MB .mov)
20 images
immediate vicinity
On 21st of March, 2007 my daughter was born. My son had, two months prior, celebrated his second birthday. Anyone in similar circumstances can appreciate that there is little time for anything other than domesticated "bliss" and occasionally some sleep. Photography seemed out of the question. Determined to pick up the camera again, I set about to make the best use of the only time that I had at my disposal, my commute to work which consisted of a 12 minute walk to the subway and then a 10 minute ride.
Photography, at least it seems to me, has a direct relationship with the "reality" the photographer experiences, either accidental or contrived. The photographer selects some portion of this "reality", captures it and presents it as a photograph. The job of a photographer is to manage this "reality" is such a way as to result in interesting photographs. Traveling to exotic destinations, achieving access to the otherwise inaccessible locations/people, constructing film set like concoctions; these are but a few of the many "reality" enhancement techniques. None of which where readily available to me. This series of images is a result of an attempt to make the most of my forced "reality".
20 images
admitted for observation: 12/29/2008 - 1/09/2009
There are several seemingly unwritten rules in contemporary photography. One such rule is the expectation that a photography project has to have an underlying conceptual framework for it to be considered meaningful or interesting. The more socially conscious and contemporary the better. Looking at other visual arts, painting for example, this high expectation does not seem to exist or at least it's not the primary concern. Aesthetics and the development and application of a personal style seem to take precedent over the concept. Perhaps photography's burdensome preoccupation with the conceptually based project is somehow related to photography's historical relationship with journalism. Wouldn't it be nice to be free of this burden for a while?
With this time bound series, I wanted to challenge this rule. My subject matter, China, has been the basis for many conceptually rooted photography projects, too many. Instead of dreaming up yet another angle, I wanted to just react to the subject in an organic way, to hopefully let my aesthetic develop and perhaps present itself.
15 images
wheeled estate
San Francisco, California has the highest per capita rate of homelessness of any city in the United States. This fact can be attributed to many factors, including but certainly not limited to, the predominance of social liberalism, the year round reasonably mild climate and the relatively high cost of housing in the region. Homelessness manifests itself in a spectrum of living conditions, from living on the street with shopping cart and cardboard boxes to endless couch surfing. With this series of images I examine one of the more affluent homelessness conditions, vehicle (car/truck/RV/van/bus) camping. Specifically I typographically examine the vehicles which function as homes.
choreographed slide show (30MB .mov)
15 images
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