The act of photographing is, for me, a joyous and exciting experience—one that moves me on a truly deep level. It starts with a reaction to something seen in the world, and then becomes an interaction with that which is seen. From that interaction comes greater understanding and, most importantly, personal inner growth. The resulting finished photograph becomes a physical manifestation of that growth.

I am drawn to photography as an expressive medium based partly on the photograph's inherent potential to be a beautiful object—regardless of the subject that is actually photographed. I primarily use a large camera, and at this point in my young career, only make contact prints. I feel the large negative and the contact print convey a particular clarity and tonal scale that is not possible when smaller negatives are enlarged. Another factor in my choice of camera is that the image on the large ground glass of an 8x10-inch camera is a joy to see and work with, and the upside down image allows me to deal with the subject on purely abstract terms. I feel that by keeping the process relatively simple, I am able to concentrate more on my visual concerns rather than on technical matters.