I am currently working on two new series of photographs. One is of color portraits of people in their natural habitats, made with 4x5" color film. The other is of photographs of people with their shirts off—Which is a mere tactic to make people's true self shine thru their socially constructed shell.

     Before leaving San Diego I began experimenting with 4x5" color film. The resulting photographs began a series of color portraits, including the one to the right. The man in the photograph is Steve in the parking lot of his Fat Kid Tattoo shop in Escondido, CA. I met him at a show I played (Ripe Red Apple & Skinny Bones Bad Time Band) which he said, being from Kentucky, was moonshine music and made him feel at home. He let me take his picture a few days later.

     I set that project aside for a year or so when I moved to SE Portland. This was because the culture shock was so immense that I didn't feel like I "knew" the folks in my neighborhood, and in fact was quite in shock at suddenly feeling like the most rough-around-the-edges person in the neighborhood. Now I call Portland home, am settled in, and am picking the camera back up again.

     The other series I am currently working on is the one of shirtless people. I am trying out a variety of formats, including 4x5" color film, lo-fi Holga medium format film, and even digital film. So far I am undecided at what fits the series the best. I am insistant on the theme, however, because I have found that the subjects of a shirtless portrait tend to feel more vulnerable in front of the camera, and so their true selves shine thru—both in their faces and in their body language. When the person takes their shirt off it's like they're taking off their daily mask too. In my experience, men have been harder to convinced than women. This is not a sexual or objectifying project; on the contrary, it is about demystification and true identity. I will show the results to the subjects and get their approval before publishing any of them.

     I am also always working on commercial photography projects. If you are interested in participating in a current photographic series, or would like to inquire about commercial services I offer (weddings, businesses, family photos, etc.), please send me a line thru the "Contact" page.