Philosophy
Photography: as art forms go it really is a newcomer. And yet, in the space of only 180 years this revolutionary process has changed the way we look at our world, and indeed ourselves.
I've always been fascinated by the great works of civilization; by its great machines, its proud heritage, and its future. As such, photography, which so uniquely mirrors those concepts, has intrigued me from a very early age. I was at once drawn to its antiquity and its creative evolution. It is a technological marvel, anchored to its most ancient, most basic premise; the manipulation of light. Composed of equal parts artistry and science, photography is capable of great power, and great magic. These are the things that inspire me as a photographer.
It's safe to say that there are some photographs that everyone in the world has seen: a heartbreaking image of a student staring down a tank in Tiananmen Square; an inspiring image of a group of Marines raising a Flag over Iwo Jima; a sphincter-clenching image of construction workers astride an I-beam high above the New York cityscape; a moving image of the very first Earthrise photographed by the astronauts of Apollo 8. All of these images are just as poignant, just as compelling, and just as instantly recognizable as the Mona Lisa. This is photography's power: to capture a single moment, to freeze that time forever, and to evoke a continuum of emotion and memory.
Why should I wish to capture that "definitive moment", I wonder? This is photography's magic; it is a process which transcends mere reportage. By my manipulation of the light, my choice of composition, I have the opportunity to present my vision. It inspires me that someday, just one of my images might be as recognizable as those I have mentioned; that one day, the entire world might see, in that one singular instant, exactly what I saw.