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P H O T O J O U R N A L I S M

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The Why

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I want to come into the quiet spaces of people’s lives and tell those stories, seek earnestly what isn’t said but will always be remembered and remember them this way, with imagery you actually want in a book or a frame because it tells of real life—the bread rising, spilling sink water, reading a paper on the bench. The things that only humans know and do with all the might of our ordinary being.

Reality is the makeup of storytelling, and storytelling is a way of making meaning accessible to one another, unifying us in a deeper understanding of life as a whole. My job as a photojournalist is not to make moments. It is to honor the moments as they are by noticing, and wait eagerly as meaning unfolds.

 

I want us to know that art can be every day, unobtrusive, safe. That we can create and be seen by a creative without concern. Being is enough to be loved like that. In the beginning, it was our bare human existence that was inspired out from the longing of God, igniting a union so complete that it becomes as a holy sheet of stars while a city twinkles below. The Gospel is about death and resurrection, how constant that cycle is but how inevitable, how full of hope because of love. From my heart, I want to be awake to that. To look up motivated by wonder and honor that our humanity reflects a heavenly design. Whatever you believe, this is my intention: to listen for the beauty even within the sorrow, to cling to hope and give all who see my art a reason to also. 

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The How

Following your inquiry, I'll reach out to schedule a call so we can connect on our values and hopes for shooting together. It's my intention during the call to share where my heart is with this work, to build trust between us, and to hear your vision so we can see if I'm the artist who can serve you well. Sharing my heart will sound a little like this: I am a quiet photographer. I enter my sessions with a belief that beauty exists without my interference. My effort comes in paying attention—acutely—using the camera as a tool to make meaning known and remembered. I give direction where it's needed, prompting based off of the elements/circumstances at hand, and remove bigger distractions, interfering as little as possible to allow organic beauty. I work very intuitively and rely heavily on the Holy Spirit. I'm sensitive to energy, emotion, and environments, and do my best to lean on those things to adapt to every shoot. I want to be as hands-off as possible during each session, which is where the photojournalism approach comes in.

There is a story behind and within everything I shoot, and I simply want to witness it and remember it beautifully. What that looks like practically is to be as aware as I can be of that story before going into the shoot. The more I know beforehand, the more present I can be within the moment and the more authentically I can capture it. 

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When it comes to style, I lean on composition, dramatic lighting, and color theory to drive my work. My biggest inspiration is Steve Mccurry, a National Geographic documentary photographer. Most of my inspiration comes from a similar vein as his work, with a shooting style flavored similar to the free-spirited artists Estherscanon and Kara Layne Becker. I edit my photos to enhance the beauty that is already there--not to alter it. I use true-to-life colors and tones to keep the images timeless and emotive, while still leaving room for creative freedom and experimentation. During the editing part of the process, I often find myself mediating on the story offered to me to create the finished gallery. It's not only a great honor, but a joy to commemorate beauty and meaning in this life and to share it with those who are willing to trust me. My work is intentional up until the last moment, and the stories I work with are not easily forgotten afterwards--they become a little part of me.

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P A I N T I N G​

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In a very similar way to photojournalism, I approach my painting process with intention. With every commission I receive, I look for the story and the meaning, then lean into The Spirit to guide my imagination toward a  landscape framework. I work with oils, and my style is largely inspired by nature impressionism and realism landscape paintings from the renaissance era. I love to work with the commissioner to gain insight into different symbols or images I can paint into the piece--I want the finished painting to feel like it's a part of them just as it comes from my heart. I pour my whole self into my pieces, so I take as much time, focus, and energy as I need before moving on to the next commission or project. This can sometimes cause the process to be long, though I believe it is worth the while. 

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Painting is a place for me to truly rest. My mind narrows in on the art and stills me unlike any other medium. It requires patience and adaptability and that teaches me the importance of delayed gratification and the importance of the process, not just the product. I have found so much joy in painting what other's find meaningful to them, which is why I offer this as a service. For those who love supporting independent artists and enjoy my work specifically without the desire/resources to commission me, I have prints up in my shop.

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P O E T R Y

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Poetry truthfully acts as the foundation for all art forms I partake in. Poetry is not just a thing to do for me, it is a state of mind. It somehow embodies all my values, my beliefs, and my dreams. I aim for a life where I am awake to God, myself, and the world around me. Where I am present and steadfast within every ache and every joy. Poetry is reality, is being alive to the human experience. This is why I believe observing and paying attention is so important to photojournalism and painting--because that's the only way to see the poetry within real life. We are often hurried in this culture, and I want my art to challenge that.

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There is an immense beauty in language, how we grapple to communicate with one another and only seem to fall short of what we really mean and feel. I love how poetry attempts to reimagine how we can do that, playing with words as a means to stretch and expand how we think. It slows us down because it isn't easy to make sense of, yet, if we try, there is great understanding and depth that can be experienced. Reading as well as writing takes discipline and effort, but when I've been diligent with doing so I've found I look at the world differently, with a richer, fully perspective. I often share poetry in tandem with each medium I do because God designed me to think this way. I see metaphor in everything, hear beauty everywhere I go. Poetry is my whole being, and that is what I'm called to serve with.