The arts have always been a part of me. I became an instrumental music teacher early in my life and performed with many jazz groups for weddings, festivals, private events, and swing dances. I was dabbling, at the time, with photography. I remember watching the dancers while performing on stage and imagining them through my camera at a slow shutter speed to depict the improvisational movement between them. Back then I was using a Nikon SLR film camera and studying photography through any source I could find. I loved the art form, but with a young family, a full-time job, and gigging on the side, I never had the time to move forward with photography.

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Two masters degrees and several lives later, it took my first trip overseas to reintroduce myself to photography. With a new DSLR in my hands, I found myself right back where I was 20 years before: creating through light, composition, structure, and space. During that trip to Barcelona, I found myself attracted more to street photography than the traditional tourist shots. I was fascinated by people and fixated on capturing the story in their faces. Trips to the Bahamas and New Orleans ended with the same result. I had focused on the people in my photos more than the place. 

 

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