My philosophy on photography is something that has been in the forefront of my mind, not only while taking photographs, but also in my train of thought throughout my life. I view images as a tool to influence, share, and communicate my experiences and thoughts with others. I try to convey a subject in all of its various states of existence whether it is through metaphors, their physical surroundings, or in the case of humans, their emotional states. My work both past and present has a documentary nature to it. This is because of my inherent quality of analyzing a situation and feeling the need to understand and represent it as truthfully and honestly as possible.

My body of work, NYC underground—an ode to the performers of the NYC subways, portrays these people in their environment. The multitudes of personalities of these performers and their professions define a small part of our culture here in New York. This is why I am presenting this body of work, to share a piece of culture of the current times. These particular performers should empower people to appreciate the wealth of culture and diversity that lives in this city.

The process I take to represent my photographs (and on a larger scale, my body of work) is always a work in progress. I am often changing the mood of a photograph through highlighting and darkening certain parts of an image. For example, in NYC underground I have placed a lot of vignettes in my images to convey the sense of not only the physical limitations of the underground but also to bring focus and attention to the performers. The decision to convert my images to black and white, particularly in NYC underground, is mainly to keep the images as simple as possible.






somebody critique it.. haha I'm horrible at writing statements..I think it sounds too direct and formal. should they be?