In my nature is the drive to examine all things in a critical light. I have purposely slowed down my creative process by returning to analogue film after a digital interlude. The analogue photographic process is deliberate and measured. By practicing pinhole photography, I have simplified even further, my photographic process. I have more time to contemplate the desired end-results. I purposefully work through stages to reach my destination. My process includes getting the image in camera, developing the film, printing the image and finally sharing my vision.
My photographic process centers on keeping my hands in the creative process. The handmade experience of developing film and making prints foster a connection between my essence and my art. The analogue process combines my ideas with bodily movement. This process feels warm and adds infinite depth to my work. The circle feels complete.
Contact printing a noble metal can be such a satisfying process. This process is so fickle that successes are closely emulated in order to repeat the desired results. The Platinum/Palladium process is a test in character. When you get it right, it's for a hundred years.
Empire Phallus
2023
This photo collage was created after a stay in New York City. This collage is a combination of personal 35mm film photographs and a Library of Congress public domain image. It was printed from a digital negative. At the heart of the city is humankind — full of desire. The Empire State Building takes center stage, placing an emphasis on its mighty stone structure. Juxtaposed is tenderness, emanating a soft warmth amidst the all encompassing city steel and stone. We seek shelter and excitement when entering the city without the conscious realization, that simultaneously the city is entering us.
Palladium Print on Arches Platine
6.5" x 10"
The Living Pinhole Camera
2023
This photo collage was created in my residence. It is a combination of 35mm film and digital images. It was printed from a digital negative. Being a pinhole photographer, I am enamored with the nautilus. The nautilus is a beautiful, 500 million year old creature with primitive pinhole eyes. I am drawn to the simplicity of the nautilus' structure and the soft world it inhabits; a world of dark vignettes and blown-out centers. The floating nautilus and my pinhole camera perceive the world in a similar fashion. When I visualize the end result when taking a pinhole photograph, I have entered the nautilus' world. I'm floating.
Platinum/Palladium Print on Legion Revere Platinum
7" x 10.5"
The Water Bearer
2023
This photo collage is a combination of 35mm film, 120 film and digital images. It was printed from a digital negative. Water is life (in motion). Water surges across the land, much like the blood pumping through our veins. Waves ceaselessly crash upon the beach, akin to our beating hearts. Mother Earth provides this essential element necessary for life. It is our responsibility to each other and to the creation to protect and preserve as we ride the wave.
Palladium Print on Arches Platine
5" x 5.5"
Saturn Goose
2023
This photo collage is a combination of personal 35mm film photographs and Library of Congress public domain images. It was printed from a digital negative. When the natural world comes inside, gaze upon the planet Saturn (Saturday) from the outside. On this day we don't look at our watches. On this day we see the transient nature of things. As much as we try to keep nature out of our dwellings, nature always wins in the end. Enter the Dragon. I once climbed Dragon's Tooth to view the valley below. Now the Tooth occupies a permanent space in my mind.
Palladium Print on Arches Platine
12" x 18"
100 Gods of Neptune
2023
This photo collage is a combination of personal 35mm film photographs. It was printed from a digital negative. How do we decide what to occupy our minds with? Which way do we look? How much of life is spent thinking about an ancient text, the stock market, war, shopping? Look down, that’s the newest religion in your hand. Each person is now traveling with their own personal God. We obey the commands, gathering the faithful together in a flash mob. Everything is vying for your attention, everything is holy.
Palladium Print on Arches Platine
12" x 18"
Celeste and Mormor
2023
This photo is a 35mm film photograph. It was printed from a digital negative. I captured this while out-to-lunch with my family! Sometimes life just presents itself and I'm lucky enough to have a camera with me. Celeste becomes the shocking antithesis of Mormor without Mormor's knowledge. This is one of Cartier-Bresson's described decisive moments. It's like street photography but captured indoors.
Platinum/Palladium Print on Hahnemühle Platinum Rag
6.5" x 9.5"
Veins of the Forest
2023
This photo is a 35mm film photograph. It was printed from a digital negative. I captured this scene early in my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. I was moving through an early morning fog that put me in this otherworldly place. All the trees were bare and I could see the underlying structure of the forest. It was analogous to seeing my own insides. There before my eyes was the internal structure of the forest, forever touching the sky. To this day, I still cherish this moment.
Palladium Print on Arches Platine
12" x 18"
Pamlico Sound
2023
This photo is a 35mm film photograph. It was printed from a digital negative. The North Carolina barrier islands reach out, so precariously, into the Atlantic Ocean. Between the islands and the mainland is an expansive body of water. Distancing myself from the monolithic beach houses that dot Hatteras Island, I headed for this expansive body of water. Invigorated by the surrounding water, I was rewarded with this spectacular scene of Pamlico Sound. Looking out across this body of water, I reached for the sky. With the aid of my camera, I touched it.
Platinum/Palladium Print on Hahnemühle Platinum Rag
6.5" x 10"
Surf Venus
2024
This photo collage is a combination of personal 35mm film photographs. It was printed from a digital negative. The beautiful whitewater beckons, as the unforgiving breakers loom outside. Embracing foam gives a false sense of security as darkness pounds the sandbar. Venus has fallen, Venus has risen.
Palladium Print on Arches Platine
12" x 18"
