The first person whose work I was introduced to and I go back to time and time again is Eugene Richards. The subject matter is enough to jar you, but Richards, he just shows you in the most empathetic way what it means to live and suffer and love in this world. Another person, Billy Howard, an Atlanta-based photographer, whose body of work ‘Epitaphs for the Living’ is the most moving work I’ve seen on life, death, and illness. My friend, Kaylee, who I photographed several years ago, has taught me the most about what it means to float between genders and why it’s important to question what femininity and masculinity look like, and why. Mark, another sitter, has taught me about giving yourself to others through commitment, love, and humility. Throughout any investigation of influences or teachers, the people who have given and shared with me most all approached their lives or their work with kindness and compassion, expressed in their own unique way. It’s a reminder to me to always give that to anyone, and to those I photograph because it is a courageous thing to photograph, but even more so be photographed and allow yourself to be seen.
I read every day – not only online, but in some form I am reading fiction or non-fiction that is relative to my discipline and interests respectively. It’s not enough just to look around me and think things are pretty, I need to explore the thoughts behind why it’s considered pretty. I need to take in the words of writers long dead or those living today, who have left behind their thoughts about life.