All things, animate or not, have a life span. A beginning, middle, and end. At any moment a subject is being just so, for that one moment on the continuum. My predilection for working with subjects at an intimate distance correlates directly to the keyboards and digital displays that keep us broadly connected while simultaneously narrowing our vision; both literally and figuratively. We are a culture of pictures under glass; a menagerie of triumphs and atrocities accessed via remote experience, accepted or denied by a keystroke or press of a button. Meanwhile, not contained by bandwidth, signal strength or schedule, the world turns around us. Life and death occurs within arm's reach as cells divide, explode into life and fade into expiration.

PoRP: People of Rogers Park: The Rogers Park neighborhood on Chicago's far north side is one of the most diverse neighborhood in the United States with the highest concentration of people with graduate and doctorate degrees in Illinois. From July 2015 to July 2016, whenever the weather agreed and I could spare or make time, I’d walk the streets of East Rogers Park, asking anyone who’d make eye contact with me, ‘Do you live here in Rogers Park? Would you mind spending a few minutes with me for a project I’m working on?’ I met a lot of people. Dozens who you won’t see pictured at PeopleOfRogersPark.com, but who took time out of their day to tell me about their life, their Rogers Park experience. There were four hundred or so people who talked, shared laughs and ideas and even opinions with me—mostly while I recorded our conversation, and then I’d shoot a few photos and we’d continue on our separate ways—people who allowed me to take their time unexpectedly, without anything palpable in return, and who shared about themselves and their lives, even sometimes when they didn’t think they were. What I now know more acutely than ever is this: You simply cannot know unless you ask (and take the time to listen). You’ll never be understood unless you share. And when you talk to people, you learn what makes us similar and even the same; many of the differences don’t matter as much, if at all.

Flora: The mighty magnolia blossom; weighty, translucent, simple, and yet sophisticated. Even in the diminutive Starwhite blossom there is consequential presence. With craggy gravitas of 20 million years, a magnolia bloom reveals more personality and presence in every turn than a red rose could ever aspire to.  ||  In the ranunculus, tightly compact and unpretentious buds mirror their subterranean tuber; patiently and masterfully cloaking layers of quiet intent. Paper-thin petals push outward to reveal unassuming glory. Ranunculi are deserving; delicate yet healthfully ruddy, beautiful and present without need for perfume or showy frondescence.  ||  Narcissus Papyraceus (link): Hope. Promise. Opportunity. Bulbs like those of the paperwhite store nutrients underground; dormant, lying in wait for the right time to spring forth, sending out roots for anchorage then growing exponentially from within. Cyclical. Regenerative. Patient.

Victuals (link): All things that pass our lips, enter our mouths and play upon our tongues deserve an objective view. Relatives, friends, and even the most generous of lovers are often hesitant to sit for a portrait. Vegetables and fruits make willing subjects, and are always in the mood for being eaten afterwards.

Fauna: Technology has changed everything. Regardless, I am absolute, steadfast, and implacable in my belief that everyone deserves a photographic portrait not made with the same device used to order a pizza. Portraiture is a basic tenet of photography, and the truths and revelations found in photographing people are unendingly inspiring.

Graphic Design: I believe in the design process. I ask questions. I push for collaboration. Thinking, challenging, inspiring, and solving problems is what I do. I have worked with businesses across more disciplines than I can remember; large, small, nascent and established. While design can be magical, it is not magic. Design is collaboration, thoughtful application of skills, and dedication.

Past collaborators have included: American Bar Association, Ameritech, AT&T School of Business, Blue Ocean Global, Clean Air Engineering, Cobra Electronics, Court Theatre, Dickson-Shaefer Ltd., The Environments Group, Equinox Fitness Clubs, Eva Maddox Associates, Harnois & Chirban, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Information Development Consultants, Lee Hill Associates, Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Merc Intertnational, Mosaic Healthcare, North American Corporation, Package Software, Perkins+Will, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Ramco, Rand McNally, RTC Industries, Scientific Software International, Source Inc., Starbucks, Symmetry Center, Teleport Communications Group, VOA