Summary

"These three pictures are my favorite. They are a type summary of my desire to photograph, what I desire to photograph, and what I desire to get across in my photographs. The first being: this woman is the kind of woman I want to comfort and the I feel empathy for(she had no one; she was alone and had nothing); the second being: my empathy(the woman symbolizes myself in wanting to comfort these comfort--namely, the woman in the first photograph); and the third being: the result and impact of comfort and love(the woman was so joyful to receive some left over food that a couple had given her).

Whenever I see these three pictures, I am taken back to that moment, to that feeling. My heart beats faster. I feel sad for the first, happy for the third, and complete with the second.
Yes..this is what I love."

Passages

"Click"--with the push of a button, it is over...seemingly. In actuality, it has just begun. With the click of that button, more goes on than people may realize. That camera is more than just a box(or rectangle)with a flash; it is a passage to an "unknown" world; it is a connection with the "unknown" world; it is my passive involvement with this "unknown" world.

Sight Difference

I had always seen things differently. Maybe it was just that my perspective was different, or maybe, I indeed did see differently. Or, maybe is it, that one's perspective alters the way he sees. Either way, something was different about the way I saw. That wasn't so horrible in and of itself. But that fact that I could not verbalize what I saw--explain aloud with my words/vocabulary--was the most difficult, if not frustrating most of the time. But I found those words--I found my voice--through writing. I could not explain aloud what I saw, but when I wrote, I was able to go into magnificent detail. When I attempted to explain my sights aloud, no words would come--they were trapped in my head, my mouth. My lips were guards that let no words escape. But when I wrote, I had all words at my disposal. I had too many words to choose from; I didn't know which to pick--so I wrote them all. At one point, I did get quite tired of writing; I looked--searched--for some other outlet through which to express what and how I saw. At this point, I had ceased my writing and became bottled up inside. That was a frustrating time, but I didn't dare venture back to writing.
...
As I said a forehand, I have always seen differently. I can see perfectly; I have never needed glasses or the such like. Even though I never had "frames" to look through, I did see objects framed--they were built-in, if you will. early on(in my younger years), I wanted to photograph everything--just to see what it would look like on paper; then to hold those little snippets of objects in my hands were empowering. the process was innocent for I was naive. Just throughout this past year, I see the world(and objects in general) differently. I parted from photographing the tangible representing the tangible. I ventured into attempting to photograph the intangible, the photograph being the tangible interpretation, representation. It was then that the process of photography was no longer an innocent action. I was no longer naive. I began to photograph for very selfish reasons. Photographing gave me a "high"; looking at the photographs afterward gave me feelings I never had before, although the feelings were fleeting. Because the very fact that they were fleeting made me want to photograph more and have more photographs for which to look at, in my skewed view. I enjoyed the process and the feelings and emotions that came with it.

Photographers' Tasks

To take the intangible and recreate it to be tangible is a great feat, to say the least. It is a daunting task, yes, but I am up for the challenge.
Imagination has always played a role in my desire to make "intangible", well, tangible. Throughout the years, I have thought about ways to accomplish this self-given task. I found the answer through photography.
I don't meant to sound all "artsy"; I'm don't want to give you "artist talk crap"--this is just honestly what I think and feel: when I snap a picture, the picture isn't just of a person, an event, a street scene; it is a feeling, an emotion, a moment. When I hold that photograph in my hands, it is my tangible interpretation of a particular feeling, emotion, or moment: a representation of the intangible. That feeling or emotion doesn't just live in my head or heart now; it lives on paper. I can see what feelings and emotions look like--I can touch them; grasp them; have them. Feelings and emotions are real now; they have shape; they have a place; they have meaning and purpose. Feelings are made real by the click of one single button.
I am not a photographer, no; I would consider myself a superhero. It is a great accomplish to take an intangible object or idea, that resides only in one's head/imagination/heart. and create it to be touched, felt seen. I my mind, I have done that very daunting task with much ease, and have enjoyed every minute of it. I am my very own superhero, modestly put.

Artist's Statement

Everybody has a story. Everybody is going through a journey. Everybody displays that story or that journey to some extent. I am intrigued by everybody's story. I long to know of their journey. I have a passion to capture that story, not only in my mind, not only in my heart, but also in my photographs. I love to capture the story of people's sorrow, joy, confusion, frustration, contentment. Having people's story in a photograph is like holding a piece of them, of their heart, in my hands. I feel honored to be able to possess that piece of people. I admit that I photograph people's story of sorrow, confusion, and frustration more than anything else. I am not quite sure exactly why, but I do have some speculations. I might capture their sorrow and sadness to compare it with mine. After this comparison of our stories of sorrow, do I really have a reason to be sad? Most often I do not; they always seem more qualified to be sad. Another speculation is that if I see their sadness and discover what is causing their sorrow, maybe I can help them(empathy/sympathy). Or, it could be that I like seeing other people's sorrow because I can see that I am not the only one who is suffering; but that we all are to some extent. Different people, different stories--one tie that binds: sorrow and sadness.