Focusish

2010 - right at the beginning of the photography journey. I was using a Nikon "Coolpix" and had zero inhibitions related to quality of work. I took MANY bad pictures. It's cool looking back how unbothered by failure I was. The actual state of beginner's mind.

Two touch

2010 - Pentax K-x I’d already “committed” to photography by purchasing my first DSLR, the Pentax K-x, a big upgrade from my cool pix. This was the first time I had my camera around the west coast friends, a trip home and to the beach. I don't remember if this was something set up or just a lucky catch.

Arc tight

2011 - Pentax K-x During law school I did a lot of internships, it was part of the program. Once I had a camera in toe this was a great combo. In a new place? Walk around, explore and take pictures. It was a great way to sink into somewhere new, wander and take it in.

An almost angle

2011 - Pentax K-x In the early going I can see my brain churning, just trying anything out. Searching for things that are interesting.

Sound of Wonderland

2012 - Pentax K-x After a few years my new frontier was editing. Still shooting just about anything in front of me I started finding new was to express through filters and touch ups. Post processing transforms a few friends wandering along an Austrian meadow into a surrealist painting.

This float

2012 - Pentax K-x There were some wins in all the early shots too. I love the simplicity of this one. The sharp contrast of the cloudy sky to the lake (Michigan) works great as well. I remember seeing this opportunity and stalking the sunfish until I got the right angle.

Wagner bounty

2012 - Pentax K-x A shot from a visit home when the fruits were exploding. It’s not a good photo but it’s fun seeing my exploration with “set” shots, expanding beyond only “found” art.

Future thirst

2012 - Pentax K-x Anything even remotely interesting passes the threshold for photo worthy. I distinctly remember this phase as I explored macro without a lens that could actually do macro. The smudge at the bottom of the decanter really gets me now. I think this is at my grandparents' home in DC.

Roundabout mixtape

2013 - Pentax K-x Exploration continues with next level editing blending pictures and bending shapes. I think the water is from a trip to the Dead Sea and the outer/inner image is from Palestine.

Church in a box

2013 - Pentax K-x From during when I lived in Vienna. Since most of my photo work for the first years was exploration and not themed or otherwise structured each photo was an opportunity to try something different. The focus is blurry and the foreground is pretty ugly but I smile thinking about myself lining up the "perfect" shot.

Trenches

2013 - Nikon D600 Another step in the gear commitment to the craft, in summer of 2013 I bought my first full frame camera. I like this photo because it's abstract and mysterious but also because I remember the environment pretty clearly. I had set out that day to be a "street" photographer, setting up somewhere near the central plaza of Vienna. I don't remember much other than feeling stressed, and not doing it again. I got at least one picture out of it though!

Muse’s muse

2014 - Nikon D600 This is a favorite. As I got more lenses and started exploring portrait photography the ability to capture faces became a love. I think I mostly got a lucky mix of great subject and light. Dad at play in a moody palm frond back yard.

wash by hand

2014 - Nikon D600 I have no memory of what project this was for, only that it was something specific and intentional that I enlisted a friend for. I love the soft focus and dreamy vibes.

Mr. Leaks

2014 - Nikon D600 A brief (and only) foray into self portraits. I guess I couldn’t think of anything else to do with the large veg?

Chestnut timeline

2014 - Nikon D600 One of my first couple of “body of work” projects, chestnuts, remains a favorite. Who knows why I picked them (I like the texture?) but for whatever reason I got very into posing them in and outside for a good several years. My friends who helped me move into my first house remember well the absurdly heavy cardboard box half full of chestnuts. I had to keep them, just in case!

Unsafe relaxation

2015 - Nikon D600 Part of my year off of traditional work where I threw myself into photography as a vocation full time. I didn’t love it, it was more isolating and less creative than I wanted but I got to learn so much, saying yes to anything. This is from one of my first “lifestyle” product shoots for a friend’s jewelry company.

Freedom of expression

2015 - Nikon D600 My first (of many!) shoots with Jana and Patsy. I have such happy nostalgia for the magic of this shoot. Very little planning, a lot of improvisation and fun. It really juiced me into the world of shooting humans in movement.

Wheels don’t do us part

2015 - Nikon D600 Also during my photography vocation excursion. This was my first wedding. Quite stressful and very fun to shoot, they tandem biked from the ceremony at Council Crest Park to the reception, at a venue in downtown PDX. A friend with a truck drove ahead of them while I tried to balance in the bed and shoot the ride down. I was overly accommodating with my editing process which ended up overwhelming the couple so much that they eventually gave up, had kids and moved on from caring about the photos from the wedding.

Alt Clean

2016 - Nikon D600 I have to give the model - Tori credit for this as it was all her idea. Two years after chestnuts began, Tori put a bow on the series with this outrageous and wonderful conception. This photo was taken 6 years ago, almost exactly halfway through my journey as a "photographer" and somewhere in between the full transition to Lightroom and whatever old pit my photos used to live in so it seemed like a good place to stop the nostalgia tour.