Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, Queens, NY
When it comes to photography, to me it’s always been about passion. In my case it’s passion for life and for music. I have been so blessed over the years to be able to document so much of the music industry. However, before I ever became a music photographer, I wanted to be an artist.
I had visions of traveling around and photographing street life. Several years ago I discovered a hand-crafted photography process called Wet Plate Collodion – the technique dates back to the 19th century and the entire concept gripped me and brought a new level of excitement to an art form I already loved. I am obsessed with it and it brought me back to the days of being a teenager in the dark room for the first time all over again.
Through this process I am not just a photographer, I am an artist. I still love my commercial and editorial work of course, but working with Wet Plate has opened up a whole new world of creativity for me and it makes me eager to see what I can learn next.
In this particular shoot, I met a couple of guys on the street named Singh and Eddie. Despite the fact that Singh spoke very little English and I couldn’t follow most of what Eddie was yammering on about, we bonded over the images we created together that day. Art really does transcend language.
Behind the scenes photos by Smitty from Nightcap Studios.
A Time & Place
Photo by Smitty
It's hard to make to make these images in the field without a second set of hands.
I'm actively collecting images from assistants and passersby for a special project... stay tuned for that.