What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
I spent all of last year redirecting my gaze toward what moved me when I first picked up a camera. All of my photographs from the past six months come from a version of myself that took a couple of steps back and stopped to truly be present, rather than trying to live up to my own expectations. I’m always searching for that moment when people fully inhabit their space, something so beautiful you can’t help but feel it when you see it. My goal is to portray it through the eyes of those receiving the music.
What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on them?
I’ve been learning to quiet the part of my mind that tends to sabotage me, and to throw myself into trying the things that scare me the most. I’ve had opportunities to work on projects where I was afraid of failing, but today I’m deeply grateful I took them. I’ve learned so much along the way, and I want to keep learning.
What words, ideas or emotions were going through your head?
The photographs I’m most drawn to are the ones that carry a gaze you can’t help but recognize: origin, vulnerability, presence. I want what I photograph to be felt.
Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
Throughout the past year, there was one song in particular that kept pulling me back into these thoughts: Crushing from Eartheater, as well as the entire album Somersault from Beach Fossils.
Films: My Own Private Idaho and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
I love talking with people who feel deeply and share that through different disciplines. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting —and continuing to cross paths with— more and more people whose passion is contagious. I love discovering what makes each of us who we are.
What's been the most difficult thing you've faced recently in your creative process?
Letting go of my previous colors to make room for the ones that represent me today, while constantly working to return to the sense of wonder with which I once saw things.
What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
I’m a big fan of Roland Coffee Bar; I always order an iced latte with lavender syrup and oat milk.
As for food, I recommend the Pappardelle ai Funghi Porcini from Ciao Italia.
If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
Chasing what I felt tomorrow. Skeleten, undoubtedly, would make the soundtrack.
Recommend one or more artists you follow who inspire you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
Henry Diltz, Charlie Barclay Harris, Julian Klincewicz, Jamie Wdziekonski, Driely Carter. Each of them brings a deeply personal perspective that constantly reminds me that my own point of view is shaped by everything I love and enjoy. I’m drawn to the way they use their cameras to tell beautiful stories through tones and textures that ultimately feel intimate and painterly.
