✅ Socially Acceptable Reasons (But Not the Whole Story):
To Make the Invisible Seen
I photograph because too many people look away. People sometimes project their discomfort. If my lens forces someone to notice what they'd rather ignore, then I’ve already done more than most. But if the respect is not there and the majority of the transient population feels upset and angry by the time the project is presented, I must be doing it wrong.
I photograph because too many people look away. People sometimes project their discomfort. If my lens forces someone to notice what they'd rather ignore, then I’ve already done more than most. But if the respect is not there and the majority of the transient population feels upset and angry by the time the project is presented, I must be doing it wrong.
To Document Reality, Not Reinvent It
I follow in the footsteps of Diane Arbus and Mary Ellen Mark — artists who didn’t flinch. There's more into that. I’m not here to beautify pain; I’m here to capture what is. My work is never reinventing the wheel, and following social expectations to become a successful photographer.
I follow in the footsteps of Diane Arbus and Mary Ellen Mark — artists who didn’t flinch. There's more into that. I’m not here to beautify pain; I’m here to capture what is. My work is never reinventing the wheel, and following social expectations to become a successful photographer.
To Evoke Empathy Without Preaching
I don’t ask people to fix homelessness. Neither do I. I entice the right viewers to feel it — to witness it, even for a second, as a human experience, not a statistic.
I don’t ask people to fix homelessness. Neither do I. I entice the right viewers to feel it — to witness it, even for a second, as a human experience, not a statistic.
To Reflect a Shared Sense of Exile
As someone who’s always felt like an outsider, I see something in their eyes that mirrors my own. This isn’t “them” I’m photographing. It’s us — the misunderstood.
As someone who’s always felt like an outsider, I see something in their eyes that mirrors my own. This isn’t “them” I’m photographing. It’s us — the misunderstood.
To Preserve Dignity Through Grit, Not Gloss
Dignity doesn’t need filters or poses. It lives in the folds of worn jackets, the weathered skin, the stillness in chaos. I capture it as it is.
Dignity doesn’t need filters or poses. It lives in the folds of worn jackets, the weathered skin, the stillness in chaos. I capture it as it is.
🚫 Socially Inappropriate Reasons (The Real Engine Behind It All):
Because It’s Taboo, and Taboo Has Power
Growing up being the misunderstood by my peers, I am drawn to what society and social circles tries to hide. If it makes someone uncomfortable, I want to stand closer. That tension — that edge — is where art lives. I could never care less for a person's discomfort!
Growing up being the misunderstood by my peers, I am drawn to what society and social circles tries to hide. If it makes someone uncomfortable, I want to stand closer. That tension — that edge — is where art lives. I could never care less for a person's discomfort!
Because Discomfort Sparks Dialogue
I don’t make pretty pictures. I make hard ones — the kind you can’t unsee. If my photo ruins someone’s scroll, good. That’s where the real work begins.
I don’t make pretty pictures. I make hard ones — the kind you can’t unsee. If my photo ruins someone’s scroll, good. That’s where the real work begins.
Because I Refuse to Ask Permission for Truth
Politeness won’t move culture. Asking for permission to document suffering feels dishonest to me. Reality didn’t wait for consent — why should I?
Politeness won’t move culture. Asking for permission to document suffering feels dishonest to me. Reality didn’t wait for consent — why should I?
To Shove Denial Out of the Frame
Cities could not love more to hide their homeless population — behind fences, in shelters, or with “hostile architecture.” I photograph the exact things they want erased.
Cities could not love more to hide their homeless population — behind fences, in shelters, or with “hostile architecture.” I photograph the exact things they want erased.
Because Raw Emotion Is Addictive
I’m obsessed with unscripted emotion — the look someone gives when they’ve run out of everything but soul. That kind of honesty doesn’t exist in studios.
I’m obsessed with unscripted emotion — the look someone gives when they’ve run out of everything but soul. That kind of honesty doesn’t exist in studios.
Because I’m Not Supposed To
My fiercest fuel is this: you’re not supposed to. You’re not supposed to get close. You’re not supposed to point a camera. And that’s why I do it. Because I believe truth doesn’t follow rules — it breaks them.
My fiercest fuel is this: you’re not supposed to. You’re not supposed to get close. You’re not supposed to point a camera. And that’s why I do it. Because I believe truth doesn’t follow rules — it breaks them.
