Photo courtesy of Chuck Kimmerle.
In 2007 I went on a trip to Alaska. It was the first time I had been there and I knew I wanted to take photographs while I was there. In preparation for the trip I bought my first digital camera. Up until that point, I had mostly photographed sporadically on film. I had always returned from trips and had the photos developed and felt a great sense of being underwhelmed by the results. In no way did those photos capture my experience to the places I had been. When I returned from Alaska and began to look through the photos I took I began to feel a great sense of excitement. The photos I had taken, while still not capturing the experience completely, were closer than I had ever come to photographing an area and getting some sense of what it actually felt like to be there. The possibilities were opened up to me. That was the gateway to my journey as a photographer. From then on I began to photograph with the objective of not just merely documenting the place, object or person, but to show something more meaningful in the photograph. To capture the essence, the spirit or the feeling of what I am photographing.
Over the years I have primarily focused my eye to scenes from the landscape and nature. I use photography as a kind of outdoor therapy to force me to slow down, and simply observe. I found this has not only helped my photography but has helped me as a person become more observant of the world around me. Especially in this day and age where so much is thrown at our senses everyday, this has become extremely rewarding to me. I hope this is what comes across as you look at my photographs. I hope you look at something in a new way or notice details you may not have noticed otherwise. Our world is such rich and rewarding place if we only take the time to look and observe.
In order to help support my more creative photographic endeavors I do commercial photography work. Some of my past clients have included: Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Bayou Tree Services, The Archdiocese of New Orleans, TABASCO, Four Seasons Resorts, and Saddlehorn Community. My work has been published in the 2013 Bayou Tree Calendar, Phillip Collier’s Making New Orleans, and A History of Jungle Gardens. My work was also displayed in the Oschner Art Corridor during PhotoNOLA in 2015.
