I am a commercial photographer and graphic designer that got my start during the age of film. The advent of digital imaging has been a mixed blessing for me. Overhead costs have shrunk, feedback has become instantaneous, and an ever-widening range of product deliverables has increased profitability. But somewhere along the way I lost that feeling of fascination I used to experience when watching the image slowly materialize in the tray in front of me. In an effort to come to terms with the digital revolution I have turned to digital collage. These collages are my way of finding that feeling again. They make me work harder for the end product in a way that I find more satisfying.

The subject matter I show in my work is predominantly autobiographical in nature. That is to say that the impulse to create these is similar to writing an entry in a diary. Some of the experiences they represent might be considered mundane... some, overtly political or preachy... but they are all done simply as a means for me to process and deal with my surroundings and experiences, or to clarify my own feelings about something. To me, they are more efficient remembrances of a time/place/event than a simple photograph would be. Additionally, they allow me to color over the empirical truth of an event and infuse the image with a more heightened reality that feels much closer to how I emotionally experienced an event.

I know that some see my use of Photoshop as a cheapening of the end result, but I have no qualms in admitting that I am heavily influenced by modern commercial graphic design, and as such, I use many of the same tools. That said, I do have a self-imposed set of lines in the sand I will not cross in terms of how I manipulate images. It essentially boils down to a refusal to use any technique that is automated and that I don’t have complete control over on a pixel-by-pixel level. So, no... I do not use actions or canned textures. My work pulls exclusively from my own experiences...  so what would be the point in pulling a texture off a disc that some guy in Texas was selling two years ago for $100? What relevance would that have to my experience of the here and now in Washington D.C.?

Hope that helps explain some of my work.

Questions?