The Quiet Unknown...

(Click to Enlarge) I am so excited to begin my latest body of work called "The Quiet Unknown". This will be the follow up to "Float" and the second part of a three part series I am creating about the theme of change.

Will travel...

(Click to enlarge) I must confess that this year has been about floating. Not just floating through the world but through change as well. One of the great gifts you get being a photographer is a narrative of your life through the images you create. Rest assured my camera has been by my side the whole time. I feel some exciting new work will be the by product of all this movement and change. Please stay tuned...

Firebird...

(Click to enlarge image) So after a long wave of work from my Float collection I thought it would be nice to show some recent work. Recently I have been working with Florida Dance Theatre on their upcoming performance of Igor Stravinsky's Firebird. This is my second collaboration with a wonderful ballet dancer from Japan named Miho Sawayanagi. I cannot say enough about her as a dancer she really brings a lot to the dance scene here in Polk County.

Float for the cure...

(Click to enlarge image) So I wanted to start out by thanking all the wonderful people who attended my opening and made it a success. If you could not make it just know that it will hang for the next three months so please stop by and then tell me what you think. More importantly on the night of my opening I announced that all proceeds from this show would be donated to Relay For Life because I hate cancer. So if you want to support a wonderful cause and take home a tax deductible piece of art come on by. We are really hoping to sell the show out prior to the relay this weekend- please contact me with any questions... Thanks- James

This must be the place...

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I do not know what motivated my friend Laura to start her business Tapping the Vine here in Winter Haven. I just know that I am glad that she did. You see prior to her arrival it was kind of difficult to get a good craft beer or a sophisticated bottle of wine in these here parts. This has all changed thanks to her efforts and I am proud to be showing my new work in her place. I hope you can join us this Friday as Laura teams up with the good folks at Bebo's for some new pairings. For those of you who do not know-Laura seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to combining certain foods with certain drinks - lets call it her gift. Stop by this Friday April 20th and see for yourself...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tapping-The-Vine/151545778218264

http://www.facebook.com/events/326771720713638/

CHANGE(pt.4)...

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I asked eight different women to show me what change looks like. I asked them to slip out of their world and into the water. I asked them to Float!

CHANGE(pt.3)...

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What if you could let go to the gravity of fear? What if you could float to a new and better life? What would that look like?

CHANGE(pt.2)...

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What if you could let go to all the impermanence in your life? What if somehow you could embrace change rather than resist it like we all do?

CHANGE...

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What if you could make a change. The type of change that could alter the direction of your life forever?

Come one - Come all...

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Well we have set the time, date, and place all we need now is you. Hope you can join me for this opening it should be a great time for all -we will have my friend Shayne playing live music and free food from my friends at Bebo's. Need some good Karma? I will be auctioning off a piece with one hundred percent of the proceeds going to the "Relay for Life"... Stay tuned for more details to follow!

It's Showtime...

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Please come see my return to the fine art world with my new show "Float". I'm so excited to share this work so save the date - 4/20 @7PM right here in Winter Haven, FL. Stay tuned here for updates and more information...

"Hope to see you there!"

The Department of youth...

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I find it easy in this day and age to point out the differences in my generation and the younger generations that will someday inherit this world. I have to admit sometimes I feel a little cynical and wonder if they will be up to the challenges that they will soon have to face. However after spending a morning with my friend Misty's daughter Mina I began to worry a little less. This young lady has more answers then questions and the world is a much better place because she is in it. I bet all of you have someone like that in you world so please take the time to acknowledge and encourage them. Saturday morning Mina encouraged me by modeling for me in the woods across the lake.

Gratitude Walks...

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It has been a very industrious year for me so far with lots of commercial work and traveling. When I'm really busy picking up my camera and shooting just for fun or art becomes more difficult. However I've learned over the years that it is crucial in maintaining a balance with my creativity. Recently I slipped in the woods with my friend and dancer Jessica for a morning of light chasing...

Minor White

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Many years back I had a professor share a Minor White quote with me and it has stuck with me all these years. " The camera is always pointed with in..." As I pour over thousands and thousands of images there is always a common thread in every picture - me... Recently I turned my camera towards my family something I do not do very often.

LIfe moves pretty fast...

If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
I heard this great quote from "Ferris Bueller's Day off" recently and it reminded me how lucky I am to do what I do for a living. Being a photographer has turned me into a curious person that not only wants to look around but also capture it for all the world to see. Never underestimate the revealing power of a fast shutter speed.

Bresson's Patience

I was talking to a friend the other day that had just visited the Bresson exhibit in Chicago.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/Cartier-Bresson/

Bresson's work taught me a lot and so many things I admired about his work still motivate my shooting today. More than anything he taught me how to wait. How to slow down and wait for a picture to unfold into a definitive moment. This any many ways is like chasing a white whale and it's the failures that keep me coming back again and again. Sometimes I get close...

He looked up...

I remember one time shooting some interior architecture with a friend as students. I questioned her composition and asked why she had choose to place the camera where she had placed it. Her reply " it just looks right to me"... I took her around to the front of the camera and showed her that she had placed the lens at exactly her eye line. We all see the world from one view and it's important to remember that all our views are different. I learned the hard way that I could never make a living by shooting up people's noses - hurray for short models and step ladders. Maybe this is why I like to work with kids so much. Good pictures hide all over the place you just got to move the camera and look for them. I found this shot recently while walking a trail alone in a quiet Maine forest.

European Fashion...

Can be really funny sometimes...

I think this was in Denmark.

Just around the corner...

I was really lucky and got to live several years in Europe as a young man. The whole time I was there I constantly felt that just around every corner there was something new to discover. I'm happy to say that upon my return this year I still felt the same way. I was so lucky to have a great group of friends that shared my same enthusiasm -remember ladies and gentlemen pick your travel buddies well. So today's shot has a little bit of everything I've been discussing lately windows, art, street, and reflections.

Beat the Street...

I was really lucky and got a few days to shoot in Amsterdam at the conclusion of a commercial gig which rarely happens. Amsterdam is a great town full of art and culture and a damn fine place to just wonder around with a camera. Given the chance to visit again I will not hesitate...