Artist's Statement
I have loved photography since I made a pinhole camera in elementary school and my parents gave me my first box camera. I still work with film occasionally, but I've worked with with digital cameras since 2002. I enjoy working with film, but the immediacy of the digital world is very appealing to me, allowing me to brainstorm and experiment with the camera in hand. I am always intrigued by new technology, but recently I have been looking back as well; I have been experimenting with a pinhole body cover for my digital SLR and plan to start experimenting with medium and large format film photography in the next few months.

My passion for photography stems from the fact that the camera helps me to see more clearly and experience a spiritual connection with the world that I would otherwise find absent in my life. Although photography can appear to be a deceptively objective art, the act of choosing a piece of the world as a point of focus and framing it in terms of both space and time – usually only a fraction of a second – makes it a very selective and hence subjective art, even in the straightest of straight photography. This personal connection between photographer and subject is what inspires me in my work and gives the whole process a sense of adventure. For me, photography feels like a never-ending quest to create images – to capture beauty in terms of shape, texture, light, and color.

From my earliest days, I have been drawn to looking at things up close, trying to see minute detail easily missed by others. For this reason, my favorite lens is my 50mm macro for its versatility and for its ability to bring my eye closer to my subjects. Macro photography opens whole new worlds to me, giving me even further scope for my photographic explorations and adventures.

Although I originally studied the arts from a musical performance and art and music history perspective, I have recently begun formal photography studies at the Academy of Art University in their online degree program. However, one part of my musical training inspires me every time I pick up my camera: my greatest cello teacher taught me that for every musical phrase, there are at least five ways to play it. His words echo in my mind as I work with my camera; I always look for as many ways as possible to depict the same subject. This helps me to see ordinary objects and scenes from new perspectives.

While studying photography, I am also working as a curator of historic musical instruments. This past summer I traveled to Oxford to make photographs for books on musical instruments by Mr. Jeremy Montagu. I am also spent a life-changing week in the highlands of Scotland where I was privileged to learn from Philip Price at Loch Visions. He is a true artist and fantastic teacher.