A collection of still lifes photographed with a view camera pulled from my film archive. Looking at these images from my past I can read into the photographs in ways I was unable to previously. I don’t see the literal image anymore, I see a portrait of myself at a time when I was very lost and confused. I think this is especially prevalent in the first and third photograph where the objects are askew and there is a tension in the space between them. I also see the feeling of pain in the 4th photograph as I entered a very difficult transition period in my life. When I made these images I was unaware of these underlying currents as I set out to create a modern still life (meaning lived in and not perfect) in a traditional form by using traditional photography techniques. Photography, if we realize it or not, is very much a portrait of a person and kind of state of mind they have.

All images shot with a 4×5 view camera and traditional black and white sheet film.