It all began with a face; a beautiful, round, cherubic. A face that encouraged me to study, explore and chronicle. Faces are like that. They can reveal so much or so little. They can be opaque, translucent or transparent. They can express a myriad of expressions or none at all. They can beckon you to come closer or demand that you retreat. The possibilities are virtually endless. And like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike (well, almost no two).
Adam: Four Months Old
Adam: 1998 Age 9
Adam: 2001 Age 12
Faces launched my career and candid portraiture continues to be my preferred form of photographic expression. For me, there is nothing more captivating than a face.
So, when I re-discovered boxes of negatives and contact sheets; images of students I had captured long ago, I was compelled to revisit them and reconnect. I had no preconceived expectations; I only knew that I desperately wanted to capture them reflectively, in the PRESENT, through new eyes.
Adam: 2014 Age 25
Returning to this experience revealed to me that the innocence of my subjects, once children, now adults, was never lost; it was and is there to be captured at any time, at any age. But...it MUST be captured!
While we can all document our lives via social media, sending our most precious images to the cloud, I would venture to say that clouds are meant to hold precipitation not priceless memories. Memories of our life’s moments should surround us on pianos, shelves and walls. They should be integrated into our everyday lives: Physical not digital. Captured not snapped.
Time is fleeting. What I’ve written is already history. Moments disappear and only their memories remain, never to be photographed or captured. Opportunities forever lost.
That is where I come in. That is what compels me. That is what drives me everyday. I return to face the faces; the links in the chain of openness, vulnerability and authenticity: The most precious parts of our lives.
Beyond Yesterday: Present From The Past, is a Digital Photographic Exhibition that illustrates the absolute importance of continuing to seize life's moments before they disappear.
Join me as I share this "Present from the Past".