As a photographic artist, my work focuses on the human relationship with the natural world. Having grown up next to a wooded prairie, I learned the great importance of our relationship with our land base. My photographs express how the natural world is perceived and valued in our lives.
My most recent series 'Being There' are long exposure pinhole photographs, of my ghosted self-portrait within the natural world. These are taken with an old four by five press camera from the 1950's. I replaced the lens with a piece of metal pierced with a tiny pin size hole, allowing exposure times of many minutes. This medium lends itself to recording the experience of being there, among that particular land. The ghosted figure in these softly sharp landscapes, create a dream-like, preconscious state one has with the natural world. Since everything is always in constant motion, the long pinhole exposures capture the movement of the experience.
'The Forest' is an ongoing documentary project of woods I once lived by. It is of a wooded prairie that extends from Lake Bluff to Lake Forest in Illinois, along a branch of the Skokie Valley River. I have been documenting this space in all of its changes; from prairie restoration, to legal land protection, to the failure of housing development, to the growth and magic of life in all of its stages. This is land loved by all who have walked its paths. I grew up next to this land and cherish it as home. It is my intent to make this project into a book for the surrounding community. I want to contribute in keeping the rich history of this land alive and in preserving its future.
Native to Illinois, I received my Bachelor of Fine Art in Photography from Columbia College of Chicago in 2008. In 2009, I was awarded a residency at The Ragdale Foundation and I have exhibited in many group exhibitions. As of recent, I live in Northwest Indiana exploring my new surroundings of prairie, grand cottonwoods and beautiful sand dunes. I am availble for commission and all my work is for sale. Please contact me for more information.