The City Veins

Sandy Point, Md

This image was taken a couple years back in a mountain town in Djibouti called Randa. We slept in the valley below in huts called toukoul, and during the evening prior to this shot, we listened to warring monkeys on the cliffs above our hut.

Welcome

Good friends lack tact. Most would agree that it is a crucial element of society, one that allows/ forces us to interact civilly. . . People have their relationship circles. These concentric circles are typically characterized and determined by the degree in which the members of the circle know the real "you". . . Those that are closest to the center, ie you, would then know the juiciest bits of blackmail delight and those who are in the dante's ninth circle may know slightly less (. . .or more)
Not that I want to go into this right now, but the point in mentioning it is that I have a good friend who systematically asks me poignant questions. Like every friendship, there is a certain amount of everyday fluff. Not all conversations are deep, thank you jeebus, but when a concern arises, you can count on him to cut right through the crap. Most of my friends are like that, but this one asked about photography. So one day a long freakin' time ago he asked me in the manner of any sleep deprived and alcohol soaked college student, "What's the deal with you and photography?" Okay fine, maybe he wasn't drenchde in booze, but maybe our couch was.

What prompted this question is that we had just signed up for classes, and I had just enrolled in a course, Advanced Photography: Workshop, for the second time, without failing the first time.

Please excuse me for this short aside. . . but all educational institutions that I have attended in my life, the moment I touch the diploma, the black cloud lifts and the money pours in. Case in point, college. I took this workshop twice due to the fact that there was nothing else offered. The course progression was Intro to Photography and Advanced Photo Workshop . Hmmm, jealous? Two years after I leave, the art department doubles in size, more professors are brought in, and plans for a new building are made. Son of a bitch!! To give the professor who taught/oversaw the course credit, she totally and completely rocked. Half the reason for my return to the course is due to her. She was and probably still is as tactless and demanding yet artistically nurturing as ever. Rock on Ella.

Anyway, to return to the point, I had never really considered the question before. I was certainly interested in exploring the medium, but I had no idea I would pursue a professional carrier in it.

aside #2: if you're thinking about being a photographer, you may just want to have a back up plan, or another skill to combine with photography. I am a photographer/web and graphic designer/digital asset management consultant. And I didn't figure any of this out in college.

To continue, I thought about the question for a few minutes and realized that I use photography as a translation of how I understand and communicate with the world, both outwardly and inwardly. Sure words are nice too, but for me it was not about the subtitles or text. Though, I of all people can attest that photos lie. The "business" of photography is largely to make people look good, and photoshop makes it an obsession. Seriously people, getting old means getting wrinkles.

So what's the point of all of this? Has my college idealism of photography and its meaning been completely lost in the business world? To some extent. . .yes. As you can imagine, not every ceo or politician (props to dc) can appreciate your artistic vision of him or her veiled in an unfavorable light. Though it would be cool, the big man is in fact signing the check, and some "fraternities", as ian mackaye often refers, have no qualms about ruining people over ideological differences. That said, I still manage to create images that are true to me. My latest project which was part of an exhibition in a small DC gallery this past month is below.

We'll try it without subtitles and text first. . .