portraits

"India" is a series of portraits taken both on the East and West coast of southern India. People dress to represent the Hindu Gods, parading the streets in color at the Shigmo Festival in Goa India, also known as the Color Festival and the Celebration of Spring. I used a digital camera to share my images with the people who typically had never seen a still image of themselves before.

The series I call "My God" is work from the past 3 years. I seek out people who identify themselves with organized religion, and by doing so are in a sense representative of a larger group of people. Though I consider myself non-denominational, my desire to explore religious organizations strengthened as I learned more about each person I photographed.

A distinctive set of garments such as a black and white suit with a nametag, or a nun's habit is the first clue to the greater picture. I select the landscape, which acts as the physical world that we find ourselves in, and present my subject with an idea for creating an image. The portraits are deliberate and posed. I used a medium format camera with a flash to separate the subject from the background. I traveled throughout this country photographing the LDS Mormon Elders and Sisters.