At first glance, my work may be seen as documentary, but I want to do more than record an event. If my pictures are documents, they are purely subjective ones. Consider them maps of the psyche: they are meant to evoke and provoke an inner response. Take them in, hold them, and make them your own. Even these words are misleading.

To quote Cartier-Bresson, master of the decisive moment, “You don't take a photograph; a photograph takes you.” When I am working, I strive for a heightened awareness of my environment; a state in which I can be “taken” by unexpected relationships, mysterious patterns, or just the sheer beauty of things.

The best pictures are like puns: they startle us awake, make us uneasy, and lead us to question our conceptions of reality. One photograph can reveal multiple layers or contradictory meanings in things we thought simple. Another might distill a chaotic situation into one clear moment of transcendence. My favorite images do both at once.