Specializing in Photography

They say you should specialize…so I do that…it just happens to be in two avenues. So what drives the work to be in both character and architecture? I get excited about Character work which provides the ability to show potential clients how I see the world and what goes on in my brain. The character portraits help show a story and the energy of something that is developed out of thin air. The concepts usually start as a sketch in my notebook and eventually work their way out into the world. The energy when creating the humor and diving through the creative ideas on set, helps find that split moment when everything falls into place.

I find that in working with humor during a time when we are all working so hard to get through a pandemic-filled world, helps to keep ourselves open and happy to new experiences. The flipside of the coin is the Architecture work which provides the designer in me with the technical ability to showcase a client’s hard work and years of planning all in one frame. Things are calmer and quiet on-site and the scope and scale of the projects can be much more immense. Buildings don’t move that fast and don’t need to be directed to smile.

While on location for these projects it blows my mind that architectural teams sitting at a computer can design everything from the electrical, water, and airflow systems and then hand them off to another team, who assembles the materials, and bam, the building is complete. There is a sense of calm and quit when on site. The lack of movement to reduce any camera shake, the way time adds up and moves swiftly, but yet it’s much slower and precise which seems to break logic. At times the character work grows into something unexpected. The best moments are when things are all aligned and the wiggle room opens up to explore. Being prepared for anything is always going to be a successful shot.

So back to this two-avenue thing…Why do I do it? Because I am committed to, and driven by a creative urge to build character work and find the character of the structures my architecture clients bring into this world.