The greatest influence in my work is my love and passion for people. There is so much to say about a person. I see each individual as unique, with their own distinct stories to tell, and I recognize that theme continually resurfacing in my work. My goal is to capture the personality, passions and emotions within individuals. I believe people have so many different layers to who they are, what they think and how they feel.
For this project, I found great inspiration as I studied the work of Mary Ellen Mark. She inspired me to take a photojournalist approach to my photography. She inspired and motivated me to get out on the streets and find a wide variety of people to photograph.
I approached this project in a straightforward manner. I found people to photograph, talked to them about their lives, and then captured a part of their personality and lifestyle. I let them do their own thing, encouraging them to be themselves, as I sit in the background photographing. All my photographs are printed black and white to simplify the images.
I plan on working on this project for a few years. If anyone knows somebody who would be good to photograph for this project, please let me know. Thanks.
