My obsession with photography started with my love of black and white film. My dad is an amateur photographer and he taught me how to develop photos in our makeshift darkroom in our basement and I loved to watch our images come to life in liquid and then dry before my eyes on the same clothesline where my mother hung our laundry. Since I was very little I used to imagine scenes in shades of gray and when I started painting I would often sketch my paper or my canvas using charcoal and then feel reluctant to paint them with my colors. I pretty much live for color nowadays and I love to bring my images to life in that way, but it's true what they say about never forgetting your first love.
Living in the city for so long my obvious subjects of choice were the stories that were constantly unfolding and evolving on the streets. But, since I moved to the Hudson Valley just over two years ago, I've been feeling like that (way) younger version of myself constantly seeing the world in black and white and all the shades in between. I've been exploring and studying tones and contrasts for years but lately I'm feeling so energized and inspired by the patterns and textures that I'm finding in nature and how they can look like an abstract painting that I created in my studio.
Last month I went to Greece on a family vacation (more on that soon!) and I took my camera to the streets and out to the natural world to explore these themes of contrast and texture. I love the moments that these photos create in black and white. They almost feel like images that I only imagined in a dream.
A selection of these images and more is coming to the photography shop soon.
