I am a New Orleans based photographer. Growing up in Chicago, I got into photography as a teen in the 90s. I fell in love with the visual communication of telling a story through photography, and studied photojournalism at Ohio University. In 2005 I took a staff position at the Orange County Register, but within a few years decided to move back to Chicago to start a freelance career. 

    In this time I started a number of personal projects that experimented with my approach to photography. Urban Nature became a major theme of the work exploring our relationship with nature in an urban environment. I was also documenting music and art’s ability to build and strengthen communities. During this time I also met my wife who is from New Orleans when she evacuated to Chicago during Katrina. After many trips to visit New Orleans, we moved down in 2011.

    Over the years living in New Orleans I have focused on a number of topics, while continuing the Urban Nature and music work. Carnival and the Backstreet Culture have become sprawling projects that divide deep into the New Orleans community that cultivate the traditions we see in the streets today. Working closely with masking Indians, I created the 50/50 project in 2022. The goal of the project is to work with culture bearers to make beautiful portraits and capture unique moments that encapsulate their art and tradition. Profits from print sales of the commissioned work is split evenly between photographer and culture bearer. 

    In 2025 I started a new project called New Orleans Bouquet. Using backdrops to isolate elements of New Orleans historic iconography, I create bouquets around them with flowers and plants growing locally. The departure from photographing people is a thrilling visual exploration and creating the arrangements, with help from floral artist Rob Joy, has been exciting to wrap my mind around and expand on. Many additions to this series are in the works currently.

    My work has been seen in a number of group shows and many publications local to international including a number of books about New Orleans and Chicago. I have also self published many books, and produced an album of traditional music and oral history of the Monogram Hunters. Working with anthropologist Martha Radice, I created a public street exhibit of 70 photos called “Carnival from the Ground Up” in the French Quarter for the entirety of the 2024 Carnival season. After the exhibit came down the prints were gifted to the subjects.

    Today my goal is to tell a story of communities practicing cultural artistry to create discussion around joy and our connection to nature. The photography is a colorful array of imagery that contains humanity and nature within them.

Describe your art in three words.

Community, Culture, and Nature

Describe yourself in one word.

Wanderer

What do you love the most about creating art in you community? What particular part of your immediate environment, in your neighborhood specifically influences your work?

New Orleans is full of amazing people who work hard to make themselves into moving art. They inspire so many, including myself, and I have had the privilege to get to know many of the people I have documented over the years. In 2020 during the pandemic, I took a break from documenting people and looked closer to home to find inspiration, specifically my backyard. I wanted to isolate different plants using backdrops, this work has grown into the New Orleans Bouquet series. The Bouquets are love letters to New Orleans that celebrate details that have caught my eye in this historic city.

Describe your creative process. Are there any rituals or rites of passage you exercise before you begin a new piece?

For me photography is a form of meditation. Living completely in the moment seeking images that encapsulate the essence unfolding in front of me is a thrilling and humbling exploration. It is a study of subject, angles, and light that is also a collaboration of with the subject to find the right moment.

Where do you draw inspiration?

I was first inspired by my parents who are social workers. I heard about and at times saw peoples struggles through their work, and decided to help by telling people's stories through photography. Traveling west for work, I saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time, and that had a profound impact on my awareness of nature. Over the twenty years I have been making photos and today I strive to make images that inspire. The birth of my son in 2022 has been profound, inspiring me to look at the world in new and forgotten ways, and to create work that all ages can enjoy.

Who are your artistic influences or gurus?

There are many photographers who have inspired me over the years to name a few favorites Bruce Davidson, Martin Parr, Lauren Greenfield, Joel Sternfeld, Lars Tunbjörk, Michael P. Smith, Herman Leonard, Jill Greenberg, Richard Avedon, and Frank Relle. I also find inspiration from the many different artists in New Orleans, and love to collaborate with them to create unique photographs.

Art and music go hand in hand. What type of music, band or song lyric best describes your work?

The sounds of the streets from brass bands to tambourines ringing to people laughing to the sounds of nature and the city are what I hear when I think of my work. Much of the time while editing WWOZ provides the soundtrack for the work. 

Where can we find you when you are not creating art?

When I’m not making photos, I am usually hanging out with my 3 year old son, taking a walk, or tending to my garden. 

What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?

I love carnival season, it is a time when New Orleans really comes alive, with its climatic Mardi Gras day is my favorite day. The late spring is also an important time when I focus more inward on gardening and creating bouquets.

What is something people don’t know about you? A fun fact.

Since spring of 2022, I have been a stay at home parent during the day while my wife is a schoolteacher, making my photography work at nights and on weekends. Spending so much time with my son in his early years has been a gift that I am so thankful for. Exploring the world through his eyes, and seeing what captures his imagination has been beautiful and inspiring.

Works listed online may be available to be viewed at the Where y'Art Works gallery by appointment.

You always see more work at RHRphoto.com

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