Artist’s Statement

Putting my eye to camera has always been a passageway into another dimension. Although the eye is in this world it looks into another, a place that becomes captured and held in timelessness. What is seen is filtered by all that has come to make up the viewer/photographer, a lifetime of experiences that have been processed by the mind, heart, and soul. This filter gives the image a personal signature. Why this particular image or place? Who knows? If we are photographers we are photographing our way through life. It can certainly give feedback as to our mental/spiritual state at the time. If we enter this space with reverence the outcome can be magical and more than ever imagined.

To enter this space is sacred. It is filled with an energy that is uplifting and at times euphoric. I see it as a creative state that brings me close to Creation and Truth by the act of photographing. This energy can be found in all the steps taken to reach the final image. Whether using multiple images to build photo composites or working in the darkroom to make the final print, both share the same feeling of transcendence that is felt while looking through the viewfinder of the camera. Many have written about this “Decisive Moment: in photography. All artistic acts be it writing, painting, music, dance, etc. find this energy. For me, being in this state is as good as it gets.

In regard to the personal filter reflected by the artist, the Chinese have a saying called Ch’iyun – a sympathetic vibration of the vital spirit – this is what connects the heart of the artist to the heart of the viewer, reader, listener, or the hearts of the audience. The captured sacred moment described above can be transmitted to the viewer thus transporting the viewer (audience) to the creative space of the artist. In photography these moments are suspended within the film. The final image produced carries the energy to the next step in the evolution of the moment.

On the subject of gratitude: Thank you Dear Parents for the blessings of love and for the freedom to pursue my artistic passion. Thank you Dear Family and Friends for the love and support throughout this lifetime. Thank you Dear Teachers who have passed on the knowledge both technical and spiritual. My deepest gratitude for being able to work at what I love to do. My prayer is that in someway my work will be of service to my fellow man.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu: “May all beings in all the world be happy”