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time to put words here... February 20, 2012

Four years ago a trip to Africa forever changed my life. I picked up a camera again after many years away. Each trip before I had gone through a mini obsession that usually fizzled out when I was forced back into what I perceived as mundane, every day life. This time was different, Africa was different, Africa taught me about the little details.. things that sometimes escape those caught up in the stress of life. Even without clouds or drama a sunset is different there.. each one cherished, a philosophy I brought back home that still serves me well today.

When I came back from Africa, I didn't want to put the camera down, and I haven't.

I was afraid to shoot people four years ago, I was infuriated when they put themselves into my frame.. I was terrified of being noticed, confronted.. or attacked. But then I stepped back to Africa.. and noticed the details.. how people were reinforcing my lines, shapes and shadows.. and how their actions created stories.. so many stories.. I love a good story, I imagine back lives and settings for the people i see.. and for one brief moment.. they are in the pages of my book.. waiting to be fully fleshed out and brought to endings.

I used to imagine my world only in color.. vivid, bright and clear... but ever so slowly I crept over to the reality that in my world.. color has purpose to accent a story only if it has a part to play in the telling.. shadow, light and line are better matched without the games colors sometimes play on my brain.. the overwhelming noise. So, I found myself shooting more and more with an eye towards simple light and story.. seeing in monochrome contrasts.

I am blessed to live between two distinctly different worlds.. The urban streets of Manhattan are a sharp contrast from the dirt road to our place in the woods of New Mexico.. being able to travel back and forth allows me time to see each slightly anew.... and always helps me to notice the little details... the lesson I learned four years ago in Africa.