Photography is but a single facet of my work. I’m a visual storyteller working with photography in a social documentary practice I call Compassionate Photography. This is a deviation from “Concerned Photography,” a form of social documentary practiced in the 1960’s and 70’s by legendary photographer, Cornell Capa. Whereas Concerned Photographers placed emphasis on sympathy for subjects, concern for the loss of trust in the honesty of a photograph and concern for the political shifts occurring at the time, Compassionate Photography is founded on empathy, emotional awareness, acceptance and change.
Through my work I aim to preserve a sense of a life lived today. I am photographing for posterity, to make a historical record that converses with an uncertain future, from the perspective of my own experiences and interactions with people during my life. Perhaps the most vital facet of this work, for me, is how images work in chorus with one another to build a sum greater than the parts. Today, I am less interested in chasing singular stand-out images. Instead I see my art as exploring how images work together to communicate meaningful and intersectional stories. Music plays a significant role in how I understand and observe the world and it also informs much of my photo making process. In the narrative ideation phase, I approach the work with the vision of a motion picture director and the metaphoric observation skills of a singer songwriter. Arrangements evolve by connecting the principles of songwriting and musical structure with visual and emotional elements found within the photographs themselves. This results in a flow of characters, themes, forms and motifs that interact with the emotions, movements and instincts suggested by both the imagery and storyline.