A B O U T M E

Welcome, and thank you for taking the time to visit my website. Having graduated Summa Cum Laude (earning a BFA in visual arts—with a concentration in photography) from Mason Gross School of the Arts Rutgers, New Brunswick, earlier this year, I found myself reflecting on the journey I've traveled thus far as an artist. This website is a manifestation of that still-in-progress reflection. It offers the viewer insight into where I've been as a photographer—and hints at the artistic journey ahead.    

For many, frequent visits to art galleries and museums inspired their passion for creating their own visual art. However, from childhood, my passion for creating visual art was more influenced by frequent visits to my local movie theaters. Movies such as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (directed by Henry Selick), Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Ridley Scott's Alien, John Carpenter's The Thing, and William Friedkin's The Exorcist, to name just a few, heavily influenced my artistic sensibilities—particularly when it came to photography. 

Most of my photography involves storytelling—at least on some level. Sometimes, I convey a story within a single shot; other times, a series of shots. While I strive to provide a solid foundation for each story, there is intentionality to leave enough room for interpretation—encouraging viewers to bring their imaginations and personal experiences into play as they view my work. 

If I were to choose a single word to describe most of my photography, it would be cinematic. If a single shot is the only part of a story I offer the viewer, I task the viewer with filling in what may have happened before and after that shot. The photograph hints that something significant happened moments before the shot they are viewing—and that something equally, if not more, profound is about to happen. Like a movie poster, that single photograph's purpose is to artfully beckon the viewer to want to know more about the story's genesis and its coda. 

When I present a series of photographs—as opposed to just a single image—to tell a story, it's similar to how a movie director might cobble together a storyboard to help bring a movie into existence. But instead of merely my own thoughts filling in the rest of the story, I invite viewers to use their imaginations to fill in what might be transpiring between each shot. A prime example of using a series of photographs to tell a story is a sci-fi-themed photobook I authored titled A Quiet Embrace: Norte, which served as my senior thesis for my BFA. 

My passion for cinematic photography goes a long way to explain my fascination with a subset of photography known as set photography—aka unit still photography. According to LinkedIn, "A unit still photographer … is a person who creates film stills, still photographic images specifically intended for use in the marketing and publicity of feature films in the motion picture industry and network television productions." For three seasons of M. Night Shyamalan's Apple+ television series Servant, I was a stand-in actor and photo double for actor Tony Revolori. During this remarkable experience, I became well-acquainted with Servant's set photographer, Jessica Kourkounis. While on set, I had the opportunity to watch Ms. Kourkounis, as set photographer, deftly—and patiently—set up shots before expertly capturing exquisitely thought-provoking images with her trusty Sony a9 mirrorless camera. Having been drawn to the allure of photography since childhood, Ms. Kourkounis' photography work on set was the tipping point that persuaded me to study photography at Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Post-graduation and Servant, I remained friends and stayed in touch with many of the remarkably kind and talented artists I met and collaborated with over the years, and eventually landed the opportunity to not only work in my field, but also to do precisely what I set out to do as a student, work as a still photographer, and on the set of the directorial debut film of Ms. Kourkounis herself.

I am grateful for the path I have taken and for my father, who always supported my artistic pursuits and helped get me to where I am today. And as for future projects, I am planning a sequel to my photobook, tentatively titled A Quiet Embrace: Sur. Unlike the first photobook—which took place in Chile's arid north—the sequel will take place in the lush southern Valdivian temperate rainforest, which is home to extraordinary flora (e.g., Nalca and Araucaria) and fauna (e.g., Darwin's Rhea and Pudu [the world's smallest species of deer]). And in the meantime, I will continue to work in the film industry, pursuing what I love and taking my photography skills wherever I see fit.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to visit my website!