The Art of Perception

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It is not the subject that I find interesting, but the way in which a common scene acts as a canvas for my perception to transform beyond its common state of being, and consequently my ordinary state of feeling and seeing. I prefer discovery over creation. Photography is the only art form where perception itself becomes the driving force. There is no pencil to paper, no molding of clay, it is the purely intangible act of visual perception that creates the image. The act of photographing offers me a way out of common life and habitual thought patterns, it frees me from myself. For me, photographing in this way, it becomes a spiritual act. It is an intimate state of coming back to the divine and beautiful nature of life itself.

The Quiet Poetry of Snow and Spirit

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Photographs taken in Astoria Park, Feb., 2025

The gentle presence of snow is at once calming to the body and enlivening to the spirit. Being from the south, I still — after several years living up north — find snowfall to be a particularly special occurrence. To see a park that was once familiar transformed by a beautiful soft blanket that covers everything the eye can see, it’s easy to compare this visual endlessness with the nature of ones spirit: The spirit does not demand recognition and yet its presence is felt easily when one is quiet; The nature of spirit is lighter than a feather and yet its powerful affect touches every moment of the soul. Walking through the snow, everything becomes softened not only visually, even the sound of distant conversations and cars going by becomes a gentle, dreamlike melody. Times like this remind me once more that your highest self is not found through force but surrender. To move softly through the world, to move within ones own very self, is poetry too pure for articulation.

Empty Mind, Clear Heart

Only in inner silence can we begin to recognize the beauty all around us. Too often our minds are loud with thoughts of what has happened or what is to come. If we can find a moment to pause in the space between past and future, we can transform from our common state of doing into the peaceful state of being. In being there is perfect stillness and endless beauty.

It Demands And Yet Never Breaks A Whisper

I have strayed too far for my soul to follow. There is a fog settling in, so I must travel through darkness to find it once more. I took that small light for granted, assuming it was okay with gathering dust - but it is not. It demands attention. It demands and yet never breaks a whisper.

Photo taken at Shenandoah National Park, Virginia in December 2024.

The Universe

The universe, in response to my unrelenting quest, revealed its true nature to me. Only that I cannot convey its perfection by any means, as it exists beyond the limitations of language, or any other form of expression. And it is this very impossibility that lies at the heart of every photograph and every piece of writing I have created since this unveiling. The chance to express even a momentary glimpse of that eternal, perfect realm is enough to fuel my soul through this life and into whatever may arise after.

To Feel Anything

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The golden hue of sunrise bathes me, cleanses me, purifies me. It tells me to relax, to feel, to become more softly attentive. Today is a new day and I am thankful to be alive.

“To feel anything
deranges you. To be seen
feeling anything strips you
naked. In the grip of it
pleasure or pain doesn’t
matter. You think what
will they do what new
power will they acquire if
they see me naked like
this. If they see you
feeling. You have no idea
what. It’s not about them.
To be seen is the penalty.”

- Anne Carson

Acadia National Park

Experimental film shot in Maine // Somehow the unknown results of film captures that immaterial feeling, that internal state of being experienced in a given space, unexpectedly exposing a nostalgic whisper only the soul can recognize.

Walking Thoughts

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Found this beautiful scene on a crisp, sunny Sunday Morning walk. Love my neighborhood of Astoria, Queens!

“You cannot expand your truth until you first understand your truth.”

“Ideals, when utilized to their greatest extent, are to be goals that lift you higher, not expectations that weigh you down.”

2025 Astoria Queens Calendar Is Here!

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This twelve-month calendar features beautiful photographs taken throughout the vibrant neighborhood of Astoria, Queens in New York City! From the dazzling Fourth of July fireworks display at Astoria Park and picturesque winter scenes to our beloved Neptune Diner, this calendar beautifully captures the heart and charm of Astoria.

Astoria Queens 2025 Calendar

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Astoria Queens 2025 Calendar 〰️

 

You can checkout the calendar online at my Etsy site as well by following this link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1813931675/2025-calendar-of-astoria-queens-new-york?ref=listings_manager_grid

grit + emergence

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One World Trade Center

From mid-afternoon to twilight, photographs of the One World Trade Center form different points of view.

Transitory Transformation

I always, without fail, feel a swelling of emotions when I find myself at an airport. Seeing off a loved one, being picked up or arriving on my own; the circumstances may change, yet I am always overwhelmed with the same feeling of transformation - as if something is being lost, or gained, or a mixture of the two. Even when I have looked forward to the trip, the state of arrival, I feel a sense of loss for the place I am departing from. As if it will not be the same when I return, or that, perhaps, I will not be the same when I return; that these are the final moments of this particular version of myself I will never have back again. It is a thrilling sensation, I feel loss for the soon-to-be-past, and yet a deep longing for the unknown, new version of myself I am soon to meet.

Thoughts: Malevich, Materiality & The Divine

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Malevich did not make his black squares for the core reason of bringing materiality to the forefront of the dialogue. No, that is too simple of a theory. Malevich was breaking the third dimension traditionally depicted on the canvas, to reveal the eternity of the fourth dimension. His paintings are free of distance, direction, all aspects characteristic of our three dimensional experience. But the minds of the historians and critics were limited, as the mind is inherently trapped in time, logic and reason. And since Malevich’s work transcended such aspects of the mind, the historian could never fully get to the truth of Malevich’s work. Instead, they falsely theorized his work as a conversation about materiality, trapping his work inside the limits of their mental web of clever ideas. This in fact, could not be more incorrect. Malevich was expressing the eternal divine, where the chains of time turn to grains of sand, where all that ever was, is and will be, is always now.

as my spirit drifts

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The universe, in response to my unrelenting quest

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The universe, in response to my unrelenting quest, revealed its true nature to me. Only that I cannot convey its perfection by any means, as it exists beyond the limitations of language, or any other form of expression. And it is this very impossibility that lies at the heart of every photograph and every piece of writing I have created since this unveiling. The chance to express even a momentary glimpse of that eternal, perfect realm is enough to fuel my soul through this life and into whatever may arise after.

Happy Fourth!

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This red and blue photograph signifies the heart of Fourth of July celebrations: Fireworks! Captured during the firework display at Astoria Park in Queens, this image includes the iconic Hell Gate Bridge alongside views of New York City in the background.