Abstractions

“Self Portrait Tetraptych” - 2019

Created over a series of four days, Self Portrait Tetraptych eschews a formal biography, instead ushering in layers of visually important items to embody myself as an artist. The subjects of each image offer an abstracted view of elements of my life, while a focus on kinematic motion is emblematic of continual and irrepressible progression of my experiences, skills and personal growth.

“Seattle Identity Crisis” - 2019

Seattle Identity Crisis explores the mechanisms by which technology can (in this case, literally) depersonalize us and demotivate one from becoming their own character. On the surface, this image represents a familiar scene to Seattle locals - people loiter and stroll and wait for buses to come. The environment is generally familiar. However, a closer look into the photo shows a distorted truth; human figures become jagged smears of what they once were, and identity becomes fractured and meaningless. Seattle Identity Crisis was produced with a variant of Google’s Deep Dream algorithms.

Portraiture

“Forest Dwellers” - 2019 - With Emilia Sunderland and Meleah McKnight

Portraiture has never been my primary interest as a photographer. Until recently, I neglected the art form in favor of less structured styles of photography. This image set represents my efforts to change that reality, and the culmination of a dozen prior sessions. From a professional practices standpoint, Forest Dwellers required coordination on all fronts, from clothing to posing. Outdoor lighting was also involved - technique I was unfamiliar with before this point.

“Abigail Portraits” - 2018 - With Abigail Anderson

A sample from my studio work, Abigail Portraits explores the development of my style while learning to effectively use strobes and continuous lighting techniques. Like many of my other images, I enjoy utilizing high contrast lighting with very deep shadows to create exaggerated subject isolation. While my more mature studio work has relaxed to allow some more spatial context, I feel these images represent my underlying philosophy to allow the model to exist within negative space instead of fighting to fill it.

Landscapes

“Alaska Departure” - 2016-2017

Landscape photographs are some of the most personally challenging images to create. Whereas the focus of portraiture or event photography is often inward, focusing on a particular subject, landscape photography presents fewer such opportunities. These images represent a struggle with that reality. Instead of taking very wide shots, these images rely more heavily on geometry and tighter focal lengths to create meaningful compositions.

Events

“Emerald Downs” - 2019

Photography and horse racing has a special place in my heart. After beginning my exploits in photography, a photoshoot from a local racetrack produced some of the first images that I was genuinely proud of. I recently had the opportunity to recreate some of those themes from my early days as a photographer; this time with a more editorial spin. Horse racing is a very challenging sport to document, but the results are rewarding.

“NissanFest, 2019” - 2019

Fast cars, excited fans, and torrential rain make for an interesting environment to make photographs. Events with this much subject diversity add additional challenge in creating and image set that captures the ethos of the gathering. However, the challenge was well worth it - this documentation of Monroe, WA’s high-octane raceday offered some excellent opportunities for everything from on-the-fly portraits to texture studies.