When I first started photography I approached it pretty much the same way I approach life, go balls deep until you can go no more, assess, evaluate, and decide – is this the path I should continue on. We’ve all had these thoughts, what is our path, what is IT supposed to be. I know I have spent may an hour thinking about this but I have also been doing something else along the way; I’ve been walking the path and not just studying the path. Now, before we continue, my disclaimer for this blog is as such – please do not take this as THE path, it is just MY path thus far and all I wish to do is stir your own creativity with words and images.
When I started nurturing photography it was later in life and I took my time to let it grow and evolve. I tried to experience all subjects and find which I enjoyed best. I captured a few weddings, snapped some photos of children, and did a few photo hikes capturing nature and landscapes. I spent a few years working with models developing their portfolios and I even tried shooting porn. It wasn’t until I moved to LA that I finally had an opportunity to shoot stills. It was the genre I spoke of when people asked me what type of photography I wanted to do. It was the first type of photography where I couldn’t wait to download the images and review them.
Still photography just spoke to me.
It took me a few months of working in LA to think about it and write it down. I had always found inspiration in others artists’ photos, in their movies, and in their music. Shooting stills is my way to be both creative and to collaborate with other Creatives. I have stated before that my artistic motivation is to make someone smile, and stills have become the ultimate artistic medium for me - capturing artists smile by documenting their accomplishments and hard work. It’s quite simple really, seeing others succeed in their artistic endeavors has given me my artistic direction, my path has changed yet again.
As a younger person I was restricted by the barriers of health issues outside of my control; I couldn’t go away to college, I couldn’t go to spring break, at times I couldn’t walk a flight of stairs without passing out from exhaustion. But what I could do was watch movies and listen to music. Movies and music were my escape when I was unable to physically experience life. Through others people’s visions of the path was I able to walk a path. Sidebar to my friends Orion and Erika for challenging me to sum up my view of life in 3 words
My time in Seattle was one of reflection and personal growth; it was a place where I developed artistically, where I met some of my greatest friends, and where I met the most amazing life partner Kimberly. Now that I am living in LA and I have been in the company of some amazingly talented people that I am proud to call friends as well, I can now explore the next portion of my path.
I am excited to see where this path of collaboration takes me.