One photograph of you. One paragraph about where you are. Another about where you are going. A third about how you got here. Three of your favorite photographs.
Where am I? Literally - LA, which is a change for me. Usually I am in NYC, but now I am working pre-production on a play. This leads me to the figurative part. I am in change, in flux, open to trying anything that looks exciting. I do really well with tangible goals and a loose set of rules. I make money by taking actors' headshots, photos for theaters, and other random events. I love making things through observing and documenting - I have found a perfect fit with photojournalism by combining my skills and ambitions.
I want to get paid to document things, hopefully important, life changing and challenging things - but day to day, exciting, and beautiful things is just as much fun... so, I guess I'm going to do that... I just don't know how.
I think my path here is a little different than everyone else's. I grew up in Minnesota and learned to love the theater, performing, and the outdoors. I went to school at Connecticut College and graduated with a degree in theater and a minor in everything and nothing. I loved to travel and move and build and discuss and read and anything else I could think of. I worked at a theater school, I worked as a producer on a music documentary in PA, I temped (secretary, receptionist, data entry, whatever), I moved to NYC and directed some shows, was a carpenter, and then I worked on Film and TV for a couple years... then I started playing with a camera. I saw my friends pay over a grand for mediocre photos and realized I could do that better. I bought an DSLR and taught myself how to use it and used flickr as my classroom. I saw an art exhibit on Pulitzer winning photos, made some friends with AP photographers and they pointed me in the direction of the workshop.
My favorite photographs change with my mood. Being in LA this shot taken at the standard pool in hollywood after a long evening explains the lifestyle.
click here to see it bigger.
This shot was the first time I captured mood and movement with a camera and will probably always be a favorite for that reason -
This last shot was a BBQ in Asuncion, Paraguay. There were wood coals he was burning with the exhaust of a vacuum. The father is an air traffic controller and that is why he is wearing the uniform. The other man was someone they hired to cook the meat so that the father could be with the family.
I'm looking forward to learning a great deal from everyone at the workshop - you can ask anyone I know, I've been talking about this for months. My professional site isn't as well kept up or as professional as it should be, but I do post random things fairly frequently to my flickr account. And if you are feeling extra internet-y you can find me on myspace and facebook and friendster.
See you soon,
chad
