Three Frames That Shaped My Vision
Pivotal Moments in My Photographic Journey
Every artist’s path is marked by certain works that transform their relationship with their medium. Here are three photographs that defined crucial turning points in my evolution as a photographer, revealing not just my artistic development but the emergence of projects that continue to shape my creative practice.
Krog Street Blues: Finding My Voice
The moment I edited “Krog Street Blues,” I felt like I finally got it, I finally understood how to photograph with a vision. Made in September 2020, not long after I decided to get “serious” about my photography, this wasn't just a successful image; it was confirmation that I could create work that resonated with me and made me think, “I’d hang that on my wall!” Was it the bright daylight bursting through the end of the iconic Krog Street Tunnel illuminating layers upon layers of ever-changing, organic street art curation? Or, perhaps, was it the decades of memories I’d accumulated about that place revealing a story deeper and more timeless than the image portrays upon first viewing? Yes. All of that. It was all of that, and more.
This photograph became the cornerstone of my BTNTRX (Beaten Tracks) project, eventually finding its way into my first published photo book, BTNTRX.V1. This image also has unicorn status as being the only one in my collection that has traveled beyond conventional exhibition spaces, first as a projection on a wall as part of the ARTiculate ELEVATE ATL 2021 Block Party (November 2021), and later displayed on a digital billboard atop the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel in downtown Atlanta as part of 6XTOne (January 2022), a city-wide exhibition in honor of the inauguration of Atlanta’s 61st Mayor, the honorable Andre Dickens. These unconventional displays taught me that photography could transcend the constraints of traditional presentation, allowing my work to interact with urban environments, the very same environments I was photographing, in ways I hadn't previously imagined.
Everything Will Be OK: Bridging Personal Vision and Public Connection
Made on New Year's Day, 2021, “Everything Will Be OK” marks the moment when I discovered that my artistic vision could forge genuine connections with others. This image, still among my top five favorites in my entire catalog, generated unexpected engagement across social media platforms and became one of the first four prints I exhibited in a formal gallery setting at ARTiculate ATL 2021 (June 2021). When it became the first photograph I ever sold, the experience affirmed that creating work I love and creating work that resonates with viewers weren't mutually exclusive pursuits.
Looking back, this photograph now carries additional significance as an unintentional precursor to my Vanishing Point project. The shopping center where this building was located has since been demolished and replaced with apartment buildings, another casualty of Atlanta's rapid gentrification. What began as a simple documentation of an evocative message became an inadvertent preservation of a space that held significant cultural memory for the city. The location once housed popular clubs (RIP Club XS) and stores that were landmarks in Atlanta's social history. In this way, “Everything Will Be OK” embodies all the central themes of my practice: finding artistic potential in overlooked places, preserving collective memory, and documenting urban transformation before it vanishes completely.
Cash In Cash Out: Defining My Photographic Language
“Cash In Cash Out” represents the moment my distinctive photographic style crystallized. For months, I circled this building, taking test shots from multiple angles in varying light conditions, sensing its potential but waiting for precisely the right conditions to transform it. When I woke one spring morning to find my neighborhood shrouded in fog, I knew immediately this was the day the building would reveal itself to me.
The very first frame confirmed what I had intuited—fog would add both drama and focus, softening the urban landscape while highlighting architectural details and textures. This approach of using specific atmospheric conditions to reshape familiar urban environments became the foundation of my Vanishing Point project and established what many now recognize as my signature style.
A version printed on sunset metallic paper was exhibited as part of Rigorous HOPE (Fall 2023) curated by Courtney Brooks at Pulgram Gallery in Atlanta. Later, a metallic print version, my preferred medium, was exhibited at ARTiculate ATL in June 2024, where it was acquired by a private collector. The journey of this image from concept to collection completed a circle that began with “Krog Street Blues,” confirming that my photographic practice had found not only its voice but its audience.
These three images mark the evolution from discovering I could make photographs I personally valued, to connecting with viewers who found meaning in my work, to developing a distinctive visual language that continues to define my practice. Each represents not just a technical achievement, but a milestone in understanding my relationship with photography as a medium for exploring place, memory, and transformation.