2320 2nd Avenue North: Urban Standard

I guess I just grew up with it. Art, in some form, has always been a part of my life. As a child, I remember being lulled to sleep each night by my dad’s piano chords as they made their way through all the air vents of the house. When I entered high school, I became a singer for a local band (the name of said band will not be mentioned, as to save myself some embarrassment). Under the illusion that we were halfway decent, I decided to empty my wallet whenever possible on recording equipment. The result of this is a 30GB hard drive filled with unfinished songs, broken harmonies, and really really bad song titles, which is now probably located in an attic box marked “miscellaneous.” However, through this venture I found myself slowly falling in love with the idea of both capturing and creating art. When I started writing poetry and essays, that love was developed even more. I entered college a declared English major, while also recording my musical friends in my spare time.

A new year came, and it was on a chilly day in January I made the decision that I no longer wanted to be an English major. I don’t know what caused the stir in me, but I knew that my heart was no longer there. There was, however, still that desire to create and capture through art. So I went searching. Over the next month I purchased painting supplies, an acoustic guitar and a SLR camera.

The camera stuck.

In photography I have found the ability to both create and capture in a single moment. As far as technique and philosophy, I love having a medium which limits me. A friend of mine, who is also a photographer, always reminds me, “limitivity produces Creativity.” (I always remind him that “limitivity” is not an actual word). Because of this philosophy I shoot mostly film, using lenses that encourage movement and engaging the subject.