Wield the camera as a sword. Strike through the heart of chaos and reveal the soul of the street. Create visual order and harmony from the spontaneity of everyday life.
Give your life meaning
Walking the streets of Philadelphia on a foggy winter morning, camera in hand, I’m reminded of why I fell in love with photography. There’s something magical about the way fog softens the city’s edges, adding mystery and atmosphere to familiar streets. As I make my way towards the river, I think about how photography has shaped my view of the world. Photography keeps me present, to observe and engage with my surroundings.
Go slow and just let life flow
The power of photography is the fact that it gives your life deeper meaning, and appreciation for the small things. Whether it’s the trees, the breeze, the birds flying by, the people on the corner converging, there’s so much to see and so much beauty to behold. When I go out into the world, I’m not searching for photographs. I’m conquering the day by taking in each moment. I think sometimes photographers get caught up in trying to improve or look for pictures on the hunt. I say, let the photos come to you. Simply use photography as away for you to fuel your lust for life and give a deeper meaning and purpose to your existence.
Treat the camera like a cup of espresso in the morning to kickstart your day. It’s the excuse for you to see what’s going on in the world.
Life can be boring
The ultimate tragedy is to be indoors. To be indoors is where souls go to die. To be outside, photographing, moving your physical body, is to exist outside the passage of time. There’s a zen-like meditative process to photographing and recognizing both the patterns in nature and human behavior. When you’re out on the street, you exist now. You’re simply being. When you’re walking and observing life with a camera in hand, it’s unlike anything. It’s a superpower!
To photograph is to exist outside the passage of time
The poetry of everyday life
I want my images to evoke the poetry of everyday life – those spontaneous, mundane yet beautiful moments that are so easy to overlook. A man pushing his broken down car up a desert mountain. A preacher baptizing his congregation in an African lake. The joy of a breakdancer mid-spin, frozen upside down in shadow. These are the moments that reveal so much about the human spirit. I believe photography can bring people together. It’s a universal language that transcends cultural and language barriers. I’ll never forget the connections I made by sharing instant photos with people I met along my travels. A simple portrait was the key that opened doors to understanding.
Use the camera as a key to unlock the infinite unknown doors in life
Photography is endless
Everything and anything is photographable. At the end of the day, the goal of the photographer is to remain curious, until the day that we die. I want to photograph endlessly with curiosity like I am a five-year-old child, born again every single day. Treat your photographs like a stream of becoming. Your art is like your children, and the day you stop making photographs, is your metaphorical death. Allow photography to fill your days with a childlike curiosity and sense of adventure.
You can walk the same lane every single day, and always find something to uplift in a photograph
Go beyond
My goal is to keep evolving as a photographer. It’s easy to get bogged down by rules and conventions. But the best images often raise more questions than they answer. My aim is to embrace childlike curiosity, to experiment, play and see where the process takes me. At the end of the day, photography reminds me to embrace life’s imperfections, to find beauty in the mundane. With camera in hand, I’m fully present, lost in the creative flow. These are the moments I feel most alive. My photographs reflect my lust for life – and my belief in photography’s power to reveal the poetry that surrounds us each day.