I am very happy to introduce my first photo book: THE BAY & BEYOND. The book features various street scenes, city scapes and landscapes from SF, Oakland and other places I have ventured to over the past few years. It will be available for purchase in a couple of weeks.
When I first started working on this project many months ago I had no idea what kind of journey it would take me on with my photography. I first came up with idea as a means to create a more permanent display for my photos, but I quickly realized that it wasn't going to be so simple. In order to find the images that best fit the book idea, I had to sort through the thousands and thousands of photos I've taken over the years, which was going to take time. Early on in the process a friend of mine asked me if this process would change the way I take photos, and at that time I was adamant that nothing would change, but change is inevitable.
It's no secret that I love taking photos. The images in the book are a testament to the things I love about photography - colors, subjects, details, etc. But for every photo I love and put on display, there are literally thousands that will never get seen. I have enough unpublished to do a photo a day for the next 10 years, and still not run out. Understandably, as I was sorting through these files, I started to question why I take so many photos. In addition, through a number of discussion with some amazing friends during the creation process and after the book was done, certain questions kept coming up concerning taking photos that the world will never see and more so doesn't need to see.
This entire journey has lead to focus on making considerable changes to my photographic process. For me photography is second nature. But over time, when you continue to photograph many of the same things, you start to lose consideration for your subjects, and ultimately question the purpose of the photos. By photographing the same things over and over again, it dilutes the originality of the subject. All of these questions have made me realize that in order to grow as a photographer I have to refine my process to focus on taking less photos with a more defined view point. This also means abandoning certain subjects. When you look through my photos there are certain subject/themes that always pop up, but at this time I've realized it no longer serves a purpose to photograph these things - it's time to move on to newer and different subjects. The truth is I've spent more time recently walking around enjoying this world outside of a viewfinder than I have been taking photos. It's given me a more clear perspective on creative process. I'm excited about this new stage. I think it will push me to explore some new creative boundaries that I haven't explored in the past.
I don't know where this new focus will take me, but don't worry there will always be photos... just not as many or as often as in the past. I hope you still enjoy them.
Take it easy.
- E
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