I have a Dream

Covid knocked everyone through a loop. It stole our Status Quo, disrupted the accepted norms of our lives. Much was lost during these times. However, for me, much was gained.

I’ve been a professional photographer for more than thirty years and I’ve been blessed to work around the world with people as diverse as billionaires in the Caribbean to working fishermen in Vietnam. The one thing that has struck me is that most people are kind, most people are generous and that there’s a clear thread that runs through humanity that we all share, that joins us together…whether we know it or not.

After the unbelievable polarization that went on before Covid, and then Covid itself, well, people were physically and spiritually separated and I wanted to do something positive. So, like so many, I found I had plenty of time on my hands, so I dug through journal after journal from my Morning Pages which has been a ritual I adopted after taking a class called “The Artist's Way”. I realized so much of what I’d written about over the years had to do with what we all have in common…our humanity and the experiences we all go through. So, I started sorting out my writings and realized I could create short films dealing with each subject, such as forgiveness, fear, love, kindness and many others. I decided to narrate the work and set the words to my fine art photography and music.

I’ve created a series of these short films and I call them Contemplations. They are not meant to preach teach or philosophize…they are meant to stimulate conversation, with our self and others. From my own experience I know that looking at ourselves and figuring out why we say and do the things we do, is the first step to understanding others. Then, we find, when we have conversations with others we can, at least, have an understanding of where they’re coming from. I truly believe that we can build community through conversation, especially if we talk about what we have in common, what we share, as opposed to what separates us.

We have been in very dark times, our faith, our understanding of the world has been challenged and we are now trying to build a new reality, a new paradigm. I believe people are ready to connect in person, I believe we are all ready for a sense of community to rejoice in our commonality and I believe that kind conversation can only help such a goal.

With all this in mind I have started sharing my work with small groups, primarily at art centers and friends homes. What I usually do is give some background on me and how I went through a series of synchronistic experiences that actually led to me writing and producing the work. Then I show one of my Contemplations. After it’s finished I invite people to write down their thoughts. Did it make you think of situations in your life? Did you relate to the message? Was there a word or a phrase that stuck with you that you intend to “Contemplate” I do this three times and then we take a break. On our return I give a brief explanation as to why I wrote the piece and what it means to me, I then open up the floor and ask if anyone wants to share their thoughts, or if something in particular stood out from the presentation. I also give people permission to not contribute from the floor, but I ask that they set time aside to consider what had been presented and if or how it related to them.

So far I have had very positive feedback from the few presentations I’ve made. It’s not something that I just wanted to throw up on YouTube as I feel it should be presented in a safe secure environment with a group of people.

After more than thirty years as a professional photographer I can say with all my heart that this is the best work I’ve ever produced, my hope is that it will touch people as I intended.