Artist Bio
Hello. I'm a Corning, NY based photographer living and working in the Finger Lakes.
Ever since using my father's film camera in Key West, FL, my passion and understanding of photography and aesthetics grew first through technical study in high school and then through university studies in philosophy, religion, and English. During my extensive time living and traveling throughout the United States and overseas, I had the privilege to photograph my experiences and see my skills grow as my eyes opened up to the world around me.
Since 2013, I have shown my work in exhibitions throughout the Finger Lakes region. In 2016 I opened my first three solo exhibitions - Home, at 171 Cedar Arts Center's Houghton Gallery, From Whence We Came at Alfred State College’s Hinkle Gallery, and The Light of Other Days at Mansfield University’s Loomis Gallery. In December 2018 I mounted Out of Time, a solo show at CAP ArtSpace in Ithaca, NY. My work was also featured in the Arnot Art Museum's 76th Regional Invitation, and in summer 2021, I mounted my first portraiture exhibition, From the Shadows, at The Rockwell Museum. Most recently I completed The Tradition Bearers, a NYSCA Support for Artists Grant funded portrait project documenting historical and contemporary traditions of community members in Chemung, Steuben, and Schuyler counties.
I currently serve as the Grants Manager & Gallery Curator for The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes. Prior to this, I worked overseas as the Country Director/Educational Programs Manager for an international non-profit. I hold a BA in Interdisciplinary Humanities from the University of West Florida, an MA in International Educational Development from Columbia University, and completed two years of service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the country of Georgia.
I am represented by West End Gallery in Corning, NY.
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Artistic Practice
Capturing photographs primarily within Corning and the Finger Lakes and then in my travels throughout our region and beyond, frequent landscape subject matter includes water, clouds, cityscapes, architecture, the environment, and more. I often lean into long exposure photography, utilize the power of natural density and circular polarizers. I love the implications and meaning that within a single, final image, a multitude of moments exist. Time can be stretched to a degree that nature never intended and juxtaposing a static scene with movement allows the viewer to inhabit a space outside our notion of time.
My portraiture work primarily centers on documenting community members who carry on artistic, cultural, folk, and societal traditions of the Southern Tier, a region of upstate New York steeped in unique cultural traditions, innovation, and social justice. These people bring the community together, create pride of place, and lead, inspire, and steward. Through a collaborative, photographic process, I hope to honor their efforts and drive to carry forth the flame of our common humanity. My practice is steeped in humanistic, environmental portraiture that seeks to authentically, accurately, and respectfully present each subject as they themselves wish to be seen.
I currently use Fuji GFX 50sII and Fuji X-T5 mirrorless digital camera with a variety of wide-angle zoom and portrait-length prime lenses and I draw inspiration from cinematographers Hoyte van Hoytema, John Toll, Emmanuel Lubezki, Roger Deakins, Bradford Young, and Dante Spinotti as well as from authors Cormac McCarthy, Ernest Hemingway, Norman Maclean, and Madeline Miller.