Fine Art Photography
Like much of my other work featured here you'll find that my fine art photography focuses on the human-made and natural systems that surround us. My fine art photography work might seem to cover a large range of subjects but at the core my focus is on how these systems intertwine and weave around us and how we interact with the natural world accordingly.
Much of my fine art photography work centers around natural systems and nature itself. This is because, in nature, we find patterns that are regenerative, healing, and designed by the interactions of those affected by them. Natural systems seek balance and progress and this fascinates me. Especially when juxtaposed with human-made systems that are often designed to benefit a select few and at the expense of many.
Below you'll find some examples of my fine art photography work along with explanations about these projects. If you're interested in seeing a full collection of any of these projects, buying a piece, or in discussing my work with me please contact me to set up a viewing appointment.
I have sought few exhibits over the years. My focus has long been on my commercial work. As a photographer who primarily made/makes my living from event photography I found myself with a lot of time during the pandemic to explore work that I care about. Much of the work you'll see below comes from this period of time.
Extraction
(2021 - ongoing) Extraction is a series of landscape photos examining extractive industries and their impact on the world. Begun as a few photos taken from my childhood backyard of the immense coal retention pond that has flooded acres of pasture and forest-land in the Echo Valley of Northern WV on land that was already the site of Mountain-top removal when I was a young child.
The processes at work here are photographed as visually pleasing landscape photos interrupted by the horrific action taking place within them. The systems at work benefit so few people. I would much rather live in a world where alternatives to these practices were common but the beneficiaries refuse to concede power and go to great lengths to not lose their source of power.
Extraction is an ongoing project You can buy small prints and merchandise on my sales website under the Extraction gallery.
Passage of Time
(2021) Passage of Time is a limited series of fine art photos centered on the question of how time is measured both by humans and by nature. Human can obsess over time and how quickly it passes and even nature can be thrown off by the impact of weather often accelerating the work of the natural world.
Passage of Time also examines how humans are impacted by time and how humans in turn impact natural systems because of their relationship with time. Passage of Time was a limited photo series made in 2021 consisting of 12 photos. The number 12 having the significance of noting both the hours on clocks and the number of months in the calendar.
There are still prints available from this collection. Contact me to arrange a viewing or buy some merchandise or small format prints at The Passage of Time sales gallery.
A Walk in the Park
(2020 - 2021) A Walk in the Park is a limited series of fine art photos centered on the strange collective experience that many of us had during the Covid-19 Pandemic wherein we took to local parks in order to find solace, safety, normality, and because we couldn't simply contain ourselves inside of our living spaces. The nature of the pandemic meant that we still had to keep our distance, we were careful of strangers and left extra room for the potential of deadly disease to settle to the ground before passing each other.
In many ways this time left us more alone, unable to connect with our communities and largely with our own families. Therefore this work doesn't focus on the people, though they are sometimes there. It focuses more on the spaces, the park itself. People, if they are there, are no more consequential than the lamp-posts or benches because we couldn't allow them to be - not with so many dying, so much fear, and so much risk. The occasional sizable gathering (like the wedding seen in this work) draws scorn and reproach. What are they thinking, don't they understand the gravity? Are we all doomed because of our lack of care for each other?
There are still prints available from this collection. Contact me to arrange a viewing or buy some merchandise or small format prints at The Passage of Time sales gallery.
Dysregulation
(2021) Dysregulation is a series that I created as part of my journey learning about and exploring my neurodivergence. I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021. In many ways it was a big relief. I could finally understand so much about myself. In other ways it was very upsetting. I had and still have a lot of questions. I try not to think about the "what-ifs" about my diagnosis but I do feel that a lot of my life would have turned out differently if someone, anyone would have thought to test me earlier in life.
There are still prints available from this collection. Contact me to arrange a viewing or buy some merchandise or small format prints at The Passage of Time sales gallery.
Dreamland
(2021) Dreamland is a series of fine art nature photographs made with vintage Soviet made lenses which feature a dreamy swirling bokeh and give the impression that the viewer is dreaming. Spanning a wide range of subject and colors the photos themselves are printed on aluminum to add a shimmer that heightens the feeling of dreaming.
There are still limited prints available from this collection. Contact me to arrange a viewing or view smaller prints and gifts that are available with these images on them at the Dreamland sales gallery.
Pittsburgh to Prague
(2009) Pittsburgh to Prague In 2009 I was selected to showcase my photography at the Prague House of Photography as part of a cultural exchange between the cities of Pittsburgh and Prague. Artist from Czechia were featured in a show in Pittsburgh and I, along with a number of other photographers were featured in Prague.
My fine art photography work that was selected was from my documentation of art car building for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's First Night Parade. These art cars and a bunch of puppets are built at the studio of artist and puppeteer Cheryl Capezzuti. My photos documented the process of art car making, the sense of community, and the joy and detail that goes into the project.
Six photos were chosen and all were printed at 16x24 inches. I had each one printed on Kodak Endura metallic paper.