I’m a cinematographer who’s been lucky enough to travel to more than 40 countries, working on all kinds of documentary projects along the way. I love chasing stories that feel real and meaningful, whether that’s halfway across the world or right in my own backyard. I think more than anything, I’m just curious about life. I’m curious about people, the places they call home, the things they care about and all the little details that usually go unnoticed. A lot of what I photograph comes from simply paying attention and wondering why something catches my eye in the first place. That curiosity has shaped the way I see the world, whether I’m making a documentary, walking through a city with a camera or photographing something that probably wasn’t meant to be photographed at all. I’m less interested in creating the perfect picture and more interested in finding something that feels honest, unexpected or a little different. Somewhere along the way, that curiosity led me to animals. I started photographing them completely out of context, stripping away everything around them and seeing what was left. What started almost by accident quickly became something I fell in love with.
I’m not really interested in getting every animal to sit perfectly, look at the camera and smile. I’d much rather wait for the thing that happens right before or right after that moment. The look. The movement. The expression that feels completely familiar to the person standing next to me. The setup is intentionally simple. I want to take the animal out of context and remove as many distractions as possible. When there’s nowhere else for your eye to go, personality becomes the photograph. I also don’t go into a session with a list of poses I need to get. Every animal is different, and I want to leave room for that. Some are calm. Some are curious. Some want absolutely nothing to do with me. That’s usually where the interesting stuff starts. Life moves pretty fast. I’m just trying to hold onto a little piece of it.