I photograph to remember. To honor. To slow things down long enough to really see.

My work is about people and places we pass by too easily; the street vendor, the drag queen getting ready backstage, the host at the diner, the quiet worker holding everything together. I’m drawn to what’s usually overlooked because it’s real. There’s beauty in that. There’s power in showing someone that they matter enough to be photographed well.

I’m not interested in turning people into symbols or scenes into backdrops. I’m not here to make anything look more exotic or more glamorous than it is. I want the image to feel like the truth. Cinematic, yes, but grounded. Lived in. Human.

Whether I’m shooting a pride parade or a foggy morning on the road, I want the viewer to feel like they were there. To feel what I felt. That something sacred was happening, even if it looked ordinary.

This carries into my editorial work too. Even in stylized shoots, I care more about presence than perfection. I want the styling to elevate the subject without swallowing them. I want emotion, story, and depth, not just the right angles or poses. To me, editorial work isn’t separate from documentary because it’s just another way of telling the truth.

I don’t need to perform for the camera. And I’m not asking my subjects to, either.

This is about presence. Memory. Proof that we were here.