About is my favorite section of a website, a book cover, or the liner notes. No matter how much an artist shows you about themselves in their work, About is the opportunity, the obligation, to tell you how he or she feels about the whole mess. Well, this is how I feel:

I started taking photos when I was a kid. I've stopped a bunch of times over the years due to hopelessness, weariness, and/or brokeness, but I always seem to get back on the horse. Depressing a shutter button is a visceral feeling for me, maybe like landing an uppercut or slicing a tomato is for somebody else. I think we all have something that makes us feel sharp and vivid and alive; photography is one of those somethings for me.

Some people are experts, but I am not. I am a dabbler, a meanderer, a jack-of-some-trades. Though I have spent years photographing, I have not cut out an area of particular interest and expertise. I do have preferences: I prefer working with passionate, positive people. I prefer strong contrast, less focus on color and more on line, shape, and form. I prefer bright, clear eyes in a photograph than just about anything else... that, or maybe a desolate, abandoned doorway nobody has stepped though in years. When given the choice, I go for naked, traditional, and natural over garnished, modern, or contrived. Simple and raw moments are my favorites to capture.