My earliest somatic memories started long before I had the strength to pick up a camera, or even the knowledge of what a photographer was.
While I knew what a photographer was, in theory, from the really kind woman at the Georgia K-mart who took my first portraits, the thought of capturing moments was far from my mind.
Instead, I worked as a photographer in my mind’s eye only… long before ever picking up a lens. I remember the slants of light that danced across each patterned floor, creating delight and peace. Ever since, I have been chasing the light.
All The Places I Have Lived
When I received my BA in photography, I did so by writing an 80-page paper titled “How Photography Causes Social Change” complete with research studying how the human brain processes memories like photographs, When I decided to become a commercial photographer, I knew that I carried a lot of responsibility to wield that power carefully. Memories are powerful.
In the last several years, I’ve taken a lot of time to process things that happened in my past. Like anyone, there are difficult moments, and somatic memories that are hard to process.
So I decided to visit all the places I have lived… thinking of each somatic memory that made me into the seer and photographer that I have become.
All the places I have lived is a short term documentary photo project, re-living and re-examining the places that have shaped me.