Walking Through Order and Chaos

What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante. Just walking by Mr. Benjamin Franklin’s house. I believe his house was here. Right? Here’s the printing office and bindery, and to the left is Benjamin Franklin’s Post Office.

Here’s the tunnel. Yeah, pretty cool. Benjamin Franklin went to and from his house through this original passage. And now Dante is entering. Echo. I can hear Franklin in the echoes.

Yeah, it’s a really beautiful city, Philadelphia. So much rich history. The architecture is just incredible too. This kind of stuff stands the test of time.

Order and Chaos in the City

There’s the keystone. The city is order, right? All of these alleyways, passages, sidewalks, roads, the grid, the traffic lights, the signals, the signs that give you information. All the paths, all the nooks and crannies of a city are what set things in order.

But the individual within the city is chaos. The unique individual is that ball of frenzy, that ball of chaos, the unknown. There’s something unpredictable about humanity—something spontaneous about the way people move through a city despite the order of the streets.

“When I walk on the streets, I’m walking on the intersection between order and chaos.”

As an artist and photographer, this is where I thrive: in the unknown. Observing humanity, observing life on the streets in all its spontaneity with a camera allows me to put order to the chaos. This is where I thrive. City life to me is superior—it’s where I love to be, where I love to walk and spend my time endlessly. I love humanity.

The Gift of Photography

A couple of years ago, I stopped at a bar near the river to get water. I wound up coming back with a framed print, leaving it behind for them. If you visit that bar, maybe you’ll see it.

I love giving my photos away, just for no reason. My bus driver changes every month, and I try to chat with them, get to know them for that brief time. It’s always sad when they leave. Recently, I gave one of my prints to Adriana, the woman who was driving me. Shout out to Adriana, super cool woman.

Small Prints, Big Impact

Here’s a simple way to spread joy with photography:

Buy small 4×6 plastic print frames on Amazon.
Use the Canon Selphy CP 1500 printer and a 100-pack of 4×6 paper.
Print directly from your iPhone via Bluetooth.

It’s a cheap, easy way to make gifts. Photography as a gift is interesting—it brings me joy to spread joy with others.

Photography as a Love Letter

Throughout my travels, I carried an Instax camera and gave photos to people in the moment. I did this in Hanoi, Vietnam, back in 2022. Those photos remind me that, as much as photography can feel like a selfish act of taking, it’s also a gift.

“Maybe photography is a love letter to life, a gift for humanity.”

Sharing these moments with others brings purpose to the act of making photographs.

Finding Freedom in Movement

Man is designed to be outside. Man is designed to move. Anytime I’m indoors, I feel trapped. I don’t know if that’s just me, but it’s hard to stay inside.

Recently, I upgraded my computer mouse to a Logitech vertical mouse with better ergonomics. It keeps your hand in a handshake position, much more natural. I rarely use the computer, but when I do, I want it to be better for my health. I’m starting to learn Adobe InDesign and maybe dabble with Lightroom to organize my archive.

While walking by the Delaware River, I noticed a beautiful strip of light cast on the water. The sky was mostly clouds, but there were little openings where light shone through. It looked unreal, like an angel might come down from the sky. Moments like this remind me how open the world is.

Escaping the Cage

The tragedy of modern city life is how ordered it feels, like a cage. Skyscrapers, condos, and buildings make you forget you are free.

“I always try to get to the horizon or an elevated point—just to look out, to see what’s out there.”

Philadelphia’s beauty lies in its balance. Alongside its structured grid are the wide-open spaces by the rivers and trails. The parks, forests, and rivers represent chaos—always changing, always flowing, always growing. This dichotomy fuels me.

“Perhaps my photographs are ultimately just a love letter to Philadelphia.”