My kind of town...

I've traveled across the U.S. and have had the privilege of visiting many great cities. But, nothing has matched my love for sweet home Chicago. I've been living in Orlando, Florida since 2003.  My interest in Constructon led me here, chasing the boom that once was. I also worked for the Airlines for 15 years. But, the hightlight of my career was building homes for a Housing Development Organization, allowing families to own their own place. As a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, I found that school was an important crossroads. In these images, I see reflections of lessons learned from the past, withstanding the test of time.

Photography, for me, has been an extension of my life long attraction to stories that depict the human experience, an ongoing curiosity. A few years ago, I traveled with my newlywed wife to my hometown of Chicago for Thanksgiving Dinner. It’s a special time, always a big turnout. Many of my family members met my wife for the first time. I took many pictures that week and the thought of bringing those memories back to Florida with me was very gratifying. Unfortunately, the camera was stolen at the airport. I would have given the thief the camera if he could only let me keep those pictures. I think this is where I started to really pursue photography. It really hit home how important a picture could be.

Since then I have a growing collection of pictures compiled with endeavors of developing coherent narratives, experiences in main events and moments that are universal to daily living. It’s a long term experiment that has allowed me to harness all my passions in one place. My subject is usually related to Travel, Architecture, and Sports.

 

Time can be a fleeting concept. But, an illustration of that moment is priceless. There was a guy I knew who was well respected in our community for his contributions. But, what I remember him for were the pictures he took of the old neighborhood that is no more. He managed to document what it was like when he grew up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He would later hold his work on exhibit in some very prestigious places. People who knew him back then would recall him as the guy with the camera. And, I always thought he was brilliant for doing something so valuable for so many people.

 

Photography also has proven very instrumental in my construction career, when it comes to interpreting ideas from the field to the board room. They also help to document progress in a time sensitive environment. More importantly, they help arbitrate responsibilities that would otherwise be ambiguous in the greater scheme of multiple sites & their geographical challenges. It captures moments in composition, as design can do in the visual arts. Just as in painting and sculpture, photography is about a balanced placement and arrangement of the subject matter.

 

I remember hearing a writing instructor say one day that he did not like to live in the moment. For example, while at a football game, he did not appreciate that moment as much as when he went home and wrote about the things he experienced and how they made him feel. The story was somehow more powerful in the past tense. Photography has that same effect on me. When I go out to a photo shoot, I’m not completely certain of what I will capture. Looking forward to that discovery is what stirs my passion. The instructor would also say that, when his father past away. His recollection of that moment was totally different story than that of his sister, who was also there. Truth can sometimes be a matter of perception. In other words, there can be more than one version of the same story and one does not cancel out the other. Photographs complement those perceptions.

 

The stories behind the images will capture an audience and create a theme. A growing debate today is the ever changing technology in society and our perception of it and how it affects our existence. We are in the middle of this phenomenon and its conclusion is still being written. Now, more than ever it’s become important to express ideas clear and concise.  Images will play a big role.