A village in Dara-I-Suf, Afghanistan. The first foreigner ever to visit.
I left my home to travel around the world alone for a year. My method of travel involved going to mostly rural, unplanned locations and speaking with the people there, often being invited into their homes and their lives, learning about them in the closest way possible. This approach allowed me to get closer than any journalism crew ever could, giving me the opportunity to create friendships and memories with some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met.
I had a vision of what I was looking for, but I can't really put it into words. I would find myself always looking for how people interact, small habits or traditions in randomly distinctive places, the things people take pride in within their communities, routines, or just unspoken details. Local stores, for example, in small rural communities don't need refrigeration when everyone in the community cooks and eats everything together everyday. Some nonverbal gestures are more affectionate in certain parts of the world. Island communities in the Philippines wake up every morning with karaoke. There are many.
I now have a collection of photographs that I hope speak for themselves. These (including the select few featured on this site) are all digital photographs taken with a Sony A7 III, mostly using a 28–70mm kit lens, nothing crazy. None of the images are staged or manipulated; they are all as I found them. Each, however, has been edited in Adobe Lightroom for lighting, color grading, and occasional grain removal.
My goal is to show something special about different people that very few notice or appreciate, give them a face and show how much hidden beauty there is in the world. It is very simple, but I hope, even for just a few people, that it creates a foundation of curiosity that introduces them to others with a deeper, new sense of openness, especially those of a different background.
This work only exists because of the people who opened their hearts and homes to me; if anything, I owe it to them. It is what they would have wanted, it is their work - if I don't do this, someone else will.
Thank you!