16 Knots: Hamburg. March 2024.
Hamburg, Germany.
3/4/2024. Work has begun in earnest on my newest series: 16 Knots, an exploration of global maritime shipping. To embark on this project, I started with Hamburg and Rotterdam, two of Europe’s busiest ports and hubs of international trade.
Hamburg proved to be a very agreeable place indeed. In addition to the spectacular and easily accessible port, the city is also a charming and pleasant place to be, one I will be very pleased to visit again.
I arrived in Hamburg on a late Monday afternoon and eventually made my way down to the waterfront at dusk for my first introduction. On a sandy beach on the banks of the Elbe River I was greeted with overcast skies with a touch of fog, and a clear view of the Port of Hamburg. Within minutes, the waterfront revealed itself to be a very lively place and soon I was scrambling to keep my camera gear out of the waves that were sweeping up and down the sandy beach. Having flown into Amsterdam only the day before, I was still quite tired from the red-eye flight and the numerous trains it took to get here, but the scene before me was a breath of fresh air that left me energized. A very fine introduction.
Inner Harbor, Boston
Past, Present, Future. Revolution and Evolution.
Boston, Massachusetts. 6/22/2022.
Summer 2022, a journey of rediscovery.
After two years of disruption, it’s time to reconnect, rediscover and find new inspiration. I began this process in late winter, the first of my staycations where I sought to rediscover my community on foot. It was meaningful to revisit many local sites and find new haunts. Recently, I gave this popular location in East Boston a try.
Within this frame, many glimpses of Boston’s past are seen alongside the present and hints of the future. John Winthrop’s “City Upon a Hill” began as a British Colonial Era port, became known as the birthplace of the American Revolution, and now serves as a 21st century global hub of science and technology. Perhaps the best way to conceptualize this evolving bayside community that is at once historic and modern is to think of a garlic or onion with its many layers. One facet of its centuries long metamorphosis however, is that much of the City Upon a Hill actually sits on top of former salt marsh and tidal flats.
While the economic dynamism of the 21st century is difficult to ignore, new challenges have arisen. Rising sea levels, housing costs, displacement and transportation are all challenges that will have to be met if this community is to continue thriving and evolving. Will a city known for its ingenuity find solutions, or will the sea inundate what is perhaps the most American of all cities?
A Misty Evergreen. September, 2020.
Boston, Massachusetts.
9/3/2020. An exercise in patience. Weeks of waiting for the right conditions finally yielded the opportunity I’d been waiting for. Every week, one of these enormous vessels departs Qingdao, China, crosses the Pacific and arrives in Boston five weeks later, after making several stops along the route. The Ever Leading (pictured) was built in Geoje, South Korea and has been roaming the world’s oceans since 2012. The sea has always fascinated me and I have long associated ships with adventure and the unknown.
Draw 7: The Mystic River. August 2020.
Chelsea, Massachusetts.
8/7/2020. A difficult year has brought many unwelcome changes for all of us. The necessities of staying close to home have inspired me to place a renewed focus on an old project: Draw 7. Draw 7 began in 2013 after my first trip to China, when I sought to continue shooting in the same style I had discovered during my travels. The roots of this project go back to 2005, to a project I began in college and intended to continue after the completion of the course. This spring, with the arrival of the onslaught of bad news and disruption, I decided to focus my attention on something close to home and reimagine Draw 7 anew.
Draw 7 is a nocturnal exploration of Greater Boston’s Mystic River and the surrounding environs. Eventually it will follow both banks of the river from its mouth in East Boston, past Mystic Lakes in Winchester, to its source. This often overlooked waterway covers a short distance, but encompasses a wide range of settings, from heavy industry to affluent suburbia. Through this series of images, I hope to illuminate a place where many transit, but not all linger.
Wakayama Nights. December, 2019.
Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.
12/6/2019. Recently, I spent five nights in a small seaside village on the Kii Peninsula. There’s a beach, two convenience stores, a home-improvement store and not much else. Nights are peaceful here, the only sounds to be heard are the waves and an old train that rolls through every hour or two. The tracks traverse the center of town, between the closely spaced houses and the crop fields. I had researched this shot months in advance, and after spending time there, I felt it captured the experience of life in this village. After scouting it on foot during the day, I returned in the evening, calculated the exposure and waited patiently in the crisp autumn air. It took a couple outings to get the frame I wanted, but the slow, quiet experience was worth it.
Ten Minutes in Almeria. April 2017.
Cabo de Gata, Spain.
4/23/2017. Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park is located on southeastern Spain’s Mediterranean coast. This desert coastline is a spectacular sight, with cliffs plummeting into the ocean. It was very windy here for the first two days of my visit, making long-exposure photography nearly impossible. Days were spent walking the cliffside trails, enamored by the jaw-dropping natural beauty. On the third night, I set-up under the stars on this deserted beach and took this ten-minute exposure. Walking back along the dusty road was eerily quiet, surely it will not be the last time I walk this road.
Yichang, China. November, 2016.
Yichang, China.
11/11/2016. On the banks of the Yangtze River I stood, watching the new and the old collide. Yichang's waterfront is lined with hotels, neon and tourist oriented businesses, blasting loud music and noise well into the night. Walking down the steps toward the river, the atmosphere changes. Fisherman wade along the shoreline, people wash their clothes in the water and cargo vessels move smoothly past the city.
Popham Beach. September 2016.
Phippsburg, Maine.
9/20/2016. Heavy fog made for an interesting walk along Popham Beach, which sits at the mouth of the Kennebec River on the coast of Maine, not far from the town of Bath. Waves could be heard but not seen until very near. The fading light, along with the dense fog gave it a somewhat ominous feel. My Grandparents were from a pair of small towns a few miles up river.
Cats in the Dark, Seoul. October, 2015.
Seoul, South Korea.
10/9/2015. An hour on the metro, followed by a bus ride brought me to this striking location in the evening where I found clear, windy skies. Several photographers lined this overlook despite the cool wind. This was the first location in Korea that I found to be truly striking and felt a strong connection to. After spending about an hour and half here and shooting this panorama, I departed. The idea of not coming back to this place again was too much, so I returned several days later. I spent the late afternoon hiking along the fortress walls before coming back to this overlook. It was less crowded this time, but the skies were hazy, so I sat and enjoyed the atmosphere. Long after the sun had set and having found the solitude I had been looking for, I picked up my things to head back and heard a rustling in the bushes, followed by a meek meow. One of the cats I had seen in the area earlier no doubt. I called back into the darkness to my unseen companion and this continued for several minutes. The perfect end to a day.