Photography enables me to experiment, explore, and look differently at the world around me. When viewing light in crisp compositions of color that abstract reality in motion, I connect with passion on film and freedom in the moment.
All images in this gallery are true to the moment. They are created with available light and photographed on 35mm film (slides). They are not processed or cropped in any way.
Burano, an island off the coast of Italy
Color surrounds me. Each home and building has a different, vibrant color, illuminated by a magical Mediterranean light.
Exploring, I find red on the side of a home. I fill my lens with it. Nothing but red… until the wind blows three leaves from above the door into the corner of my composition. I pop back with surprise and give thanks. Serendipity.
Burano, an island off the coast of Venice
The sun is setting. I am walking through a park under a canopy of trees. It is a golden time for the light.
I happen to turn my head left, and there, basking in the warmth of the sunset, a yellow wall with shadows moving by the minute. The light will soon be gone, and with it, the colors that are calling me, so I know I must work quickly.
Weeks later, when I develop my film, I find an angel in the lace peering back at me. Wishing me well.
Kauai, HI
I am meditating in a botanical garden on the lush island of Kaua’i. I open my eyes and am greeted by new light. Taking a moment to stretch, I am reminded by nature’s beauty. The photograph follows.
Thank you, green.
Burano, an island off the coast of Venice
Lying on the ground, I peer up through my lens and love the colors that I see. The shadow from a nearby clothesline intrigues me. I begin to compose. I am in my own world. The shadows become the road I am walking. And the splash of red paint, the light that keeps it bright.
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
It’s like two in the morning. I am wandering through the streets of San Miguel with my lens. Looking.
I hear the distant sounds of a Mariachi band and drunken laughter sprinkles the silent sky. There is a full moon outside. A street lamp adds additional light and I see a wall that interests me. The subtle mix of light allows me long exposures as I lose myself in abstraction.
Burano, an island off the coast of Venice
Walking off the boat from Venice, I am immediately struck by the vibrant colors around me. The island is glowing with reds, yellows, and blues. My eyes make contact with an elderly woman by her home. The painted blue is intoxicating. She takes off her slippers, leans them against the wall, and begins to sweep. In no time, I am down on the ground composing images.
Genoa, Italy
I am waiting for a train at the Genoa Railway Station. On the platform, with time before my train, I look up and see an unusual texture on the wall. By playing with the composition, seeking out a strong angle, and compressing depth, I form an interesting image. The light, however, is too little to use.Thankfully, I receive a blast of light from an approaching train that brings illumination to the photograph.
White Sands, New Mexico
I feel like I’m on another planet. Trekking into the desert, I reach a point where nothing but white and blue surround me. The day is like no other. The texture of the sand moves me. I take out my camera and lay low to the ground. The composition comes naturally.
“South of the Border,” an I-95 rest-stop in the Carolinas
Photographs often appear when I least expect them. With “Partners,” I am driving North on the interstate to visit a friend. I need a break.
The parking spot I find happens to bisect two brightly colored buildings: One sells cotton candy. The other has a bathroom.
And the light is just right.
London, UK
I am lost, wandering the back alleys with my camera. While crossing a street I look up and see a billboard, devoid of any advertisement. Instead, there are just layers of color. With each new composition I create, I see a painting in my lens.
New York, NY
The year is 1999. Technology’s lights energize me and all I want to do is photograph Times Square at night. Parking across from the Nasdaq building, I set up my tripod on the roof of my van. With every extended exposure I feel the pulse of the city, swirling across the billboards.
White Sands, New Mexico
I am alone in the desert.
While loving the texture, colors, and shapes, I feel my composition is missing something. It needs balance.
Careful not to make footprints across the image, I playfully toss my jacket onto the dunes.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
I see a window. The glass is incredibly thick, but the colors behind it draw me to my lens. With each new perspective, everything changes. The light’s angle is refracting and abstracting that which is inside.
Chapala, Mexico
Driving across Mexico, my friend and I stick to the small roads. We are exploring towns around Lake Chapala. Poverty surrounds us, but in the door of this small, adobe home, there is a richness that shines. Zooming-in to compose, I lose myself in the abstractions.
I think about the desert most days of my life. It is a place I return to in my mind when I yearn for peace. Each step is a meditation and there is silence in the sands. And the winds carry music that lifts my spirit high.
All images in this gallery are true to the moment. They are created with available light and photographed on 35mm film (slides). They are not processed or cropped in any way.
The Sahara Desert
My new friend Hassan and I are alone in the desert. It is early morning and there is an unusual breeze that is keeping us cool as we walk across the dunes. I am alive in a dream. Dressed in the garb of his Tuareg roots, Hassan nestles into the sand and takes out his drum. His first song: “Buffalo Soldier,” by Bob Marley. Feelin’ his rhythm, I take out my camera.
Sahara Zwena Zwena
The Sahara Desert
Morning Meditation.
He is one with the desert.
Silence surrounds me.
The Sahara Desert
Indigo. It is the color of the Tuareg People.
For me, it is as much a part of the desert as the sand itself.
The Sahara Desert
Hassan and I are having fun. Me, with my camera. He, playing the “air drum.” I am tired and not thinking, and overexpose the image. Back home, when looking at the slide on the light box, I see another slide of the red in the Moroccan flag. I combine the two slides and like the resulting combination.
The Sahara Desert
Smiling and in the moment,
Hassan lights up my lens.
He embodies the desert’s past, present, and future.
The Sahara Desert
His dreads ground him in the moment.
Teacher, friend, brother,
I see Morocco through his eyes.
Erg Chebbi, Sahara
It is my first morning in Sahara.
Ahmed sits in silence.
We breathe in the desert.
The magic of lady light inspires my eye. Nature’s paintings spread subtly across the road that calls me to travel and sets me free. Open to the flow, I know not where the winds will fly my soul.
All images in this gallery are true to the moment. They are created with available light and photographed on 35mm film (slides). They are not processed or cropped in any way.
Coastline North of Rockport, ME
Dusk. I’m on the Maine Coast. A week of workshops has just ended and I am exploring a rocky inlet with my lens. Resting. Peaceful. Playing with extended exposures.
Finding calm vibrations in the subtle movements of the ocean by the shore.
Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Georgia
Hanging off a ferry en route to Cumberland Island, the setting sun’s reflection warms my soul.
Looking in my lens, I see a soothing mix of motion and color. The water is smooth like glass. Experimentation with long exposures follows.
Peace.
Venice, Italy
I am traveling around Europe. Feeling freedom, I leave Corsica and find Venice. Each day is a new chapter in my adventure.
Venice captures my heart. I enjoy getting lost in the small alleyways and weaving through the city like the canals.
Resting on a bridge, my eye connects with the reflections below.
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
It is my first day in the Salar. I had been dreaming about it for months. The desert. The expanse. The reflections. As I stare through my lens, in love with the infinite sky, my new friend Anna enters the screen.
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
The sun is about to set and a storm is approaching. We are in the middle of the Salar, our 4x4 broken down. Even if we get the car started, the water level is rising and we are miles away from the nearest town. I am concerned, but the moment brings me peace despite the pit of fear that’s growing in my belly.
Keelung, Taiwan
It is my first weekend in Asia. I am traveling north on the island of Taiwan, experiencing a new culture.
After a day in the mountains, I return to the water. Evening reflections are painting the harbor of Keelung.
Chang Mai, Thailand
It is my first night in Northern Thailand. There are people everywhere and I feel a bit out of sorts. I come to a moat that divides the old city from the new.
Reflections.
I see a palette of colors that change with every new angle I select. I feel grounded again. I am home.
James Island, South Carolina
Driving to Charleston, I spot an egret, flying overhead. His elegance leads me to follow him. My friend lets me out of the car and I move closer as he lands by a pond.
There, he stands in silence.
The wind begins to paint with the water.
New York, NY
Photography is new to me. I feel like a child. Light is everywhere.
While walking through Central Park, I stumble and almost fall into a mud puddle. Then I see a painting in its reflection.
The light, reflected in the puddle, is also showing itself as rays, streaking into the image from above.
Darkness surrounds me. The energy is primal. I am trekking deep into the lava fields with a new friend. He calls himself, “a lava junky.” I begin to feel his addiction. The molten lava is in perpetual motion, spiraling downwards towards the ocean. I set up close to its flow. The souls of my shoes begin to melt as the heat intensifies. Images begin to reveal themselves. More often than not, the heat is too strong and I must flee. With these images, I hold strong and take the shot. It is the only source of illumination that paints my film.
-Volcano National Park, HI-
All images in this gallery are true to the moment. They are created with available light and photographed on 35mm film (slides). They are not processed or cropped in any way.
Much of my photography is inspired through my travels. On the road, the day seems more full, the people more inspiring, and serendipity more frequent. I feel privileged to have met so many different people in so many different lands. Some of these chance encounters evolve into long lasting friendships. Others, but fleeting moments painted on film’s eternal pages.
All images in this gallery are true to the moment. They are created with available light and photographed on 35mm film (slides). They are not processed or cropped in any way.
Outside Luang Prabang, Laos
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Outside Luang Prabang, Laos
Beach near Asilah, Morocco
I’m camping on the beach with my friend, Abdul Salaam. In Arabic, his name loosely translates to mean, “People of the Peace.”
For the past three weeks, he has been showing me around his homeland.
I see Morocco through his eyes.
Essaouira, Morocco
I wish I could say the man in this photo is an amazing drummer. He is not, but he loves to play, and play he does. He makes me smile and I appreciate his passion for percussion. Here, a moment between the beats.
Petra, Jordan
New York, NY
London, UK
My work in photography began with film. I love shooting on slides and seeing how color saturates the film. While technology has changed the medium in many ways, film will always be my preference. With the painted bodies project, I began projecting my slides onto women to explore interactions between form, color, and movement.
I was commissioned by Chess-in-the-Schools, a non-profit organization based in New York City, to create a photographic documentary exploring the game of chess and how it benefits disadvantaged youth. The program brings chess to over 35,000 disadvantaged youth throughout New York City. Facets of the documentary have been edited into an audio-visual presentation that helped raise over $1 million for the organization at their annual benefit. I also taught chess to grades 1-6.
All images in this gallery are true to the moment. They are created with available light and photographed on 35mm film (slides). They are not processed or cropped in any way.
Photograph selected by the Chief Curator of Photography of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY to display in their “Life of the City” Exhibit.
When it comes to photography, I have been a late bloomer to the digital world. While I still believe nothing compares with light on film, digital photography has its advantages and I have begun to embrace it. Here is a glimpse of my work with ones and zeros.
New York City, NY
Hyattville, Wyoming
Outside Luang Prabang, Laos