Portraits

My journey with portraiture began the moment I held my very first camera—a simple yet magical “Instamatic” gifted to me by my grandmother. From the start, I was captivated by the idea of going beyond capturing just the surface of a person. I wanted to find a way to reveal something deeper, something that spoke to the essence of who they were.

One of my earliest and most willing subjects was my brother. He was always available, and perhaps more importantly, he was game for just about anything. Whether he was hanging upside down from a tree branch or balancing a tiny frog on his tongue, I found myself capturing more than just playful antics. In those moments, my lens revealed his vibrant humor and fearless spirit—qualities that weren’t always visible at first glance.

As I grew as an artist, so did my understanding of portraiture. Over time, my work became more nuanced, and I started to focus on peeling back the layers of the public persona my subjects often brought with them. I discovered the beauty in allowing that carefully constructed exterior to fall away, uncovering facets of my sitters that were often unseen or even unknown—both to me and sometimes to them.

For me, people are endlessly fascinating, full of mysteries and complexities. Each person holds an entire world within them, and I’m drawn to the enigmatic layers that make them who they are. The most rewarding moments in my work are those when a sitter lets go of their public face, and something intimate, unexpected, and uniquely theirs begins to emerge. It’s in these moments of unguarded authenticity that I feel the true magic of portraiture comes alive—a glimmer of something private and profoundly human that shines through the image.