Examining the Archived Photographs

Rediscovering my creative roots

This is THE very first street photograph that I was proud of.  Captured in October 2004 in Atlanta, GA 

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I've been taking some time to revisit and evaluate photography projects and freelance work that I've done over the years.  Naturally, I often thought about my first camera.  I purchased a  black FujiFilm FinePix S3000 in the fall of 2004.  I always appreciated the art of photography from afar so I didn't know much about the technical aspects.  I actually don't even remember why I decided to buy a camera.  I just knew, for some reason, that I had to get a camera.  I didn't have much money but I was desperate.  I remember using a few hundred dollars of my rent money to buy the FujiFilm from a Ritz Camera store near my old job in Atlanta.   I was so happy and excited to start shooting!  I took that awkwardly shaped, 3-megapixel camera everywhere.  Now, the thought of me risking eviction to buy that camera is reflection of the transitional period I was experiencing during that time. 

In the early 2000s, I was in desperate need of direction and focus.  I was in the process of defining myself.  I was suffering from many years anger and unhappiness.   However, learning the art of photography was life changing for me.   Although I was going through a dark period in my life, I was very fortunate that my camera provided the light.

Photography became the one thing that gave personal pleasure without the need to feel like I had to get approval from others.  I finally had a sense of belonging.  That camera was my compass when I felt lost.  I was able to see the world differently through the images that I created.  My outlook on life became more focused.  It was a therapeutic to be able to narrate and tell a visual story, even if the only audience was myself.  I was learning to be free.  My photogaphs didn't have a right, a wrong or incorrect.  They were, however, honest.  All I needed was a method to express myself.   I later went on to overcome many hardships by finding comfort in being an artist and finding myself as a humanitarian.  I am very grateful that photography gave me the inner peace I was seeking. 

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