Duration: I have been shooting professionally for six years but my personal style has really emerged over the past year.
Staff: One.
Education: BFA, visual communication design, California State University Long Beach, a year in Paris, working as a graphic designer for three years, the Santa Fe Photography Workshops, the Julia Dean Workshops, the Creativity Center in Santa Monica.
Cultural Influences: Sigur Ros, KCRW, I Love Lucy reruns, local theater, Venice Beach, New Yorker cartoons, modern dance, David Sedaris, Andy Goldsworthy, Fred Segal stores, Vidiots, public and private gardens, Los Angeles architecture, Topanga Canyon, old copies of National Geographic, calligraphy, hand crafts, cultural diversity, surprises, my children. Photographers: my grand-father, Sarah Moon, Lillian Bassman, Rocky Schenck, Pierre et Gilles.
Environment: When I’m not out shooting, I’m usually out looking. One of my favorite places on the planet is the Palace Costume shop on Fairfax. I can find a vintage bathing suit and create an entire shoot around it. I also love picking up on the personality of a great location. Stories emerge as I shoot, and they take me places I could not have possibly planned beforehand. When I work with a model I want to see what he or she does without direction; I want to capture what it is that makes them unique. I minored in modern dance in college and learned a lot about expressing through movement and gesture. Sometimes it’s the slightest adjustment or movement in a person’s expression or in a person’s hand that makes the difference between taking a nice picture and creating an amazing image that you can live with for a lifetime.
Philosophy: I love the juxtaposition of classic and contemporary themes. It’s a way to honor the past while embracing the present.