Artist Statement: My work celebrates humanity and the natural world, and I’ve never been lacking for inspiration in Alameda County. I love the diversity here. In what other county in the United States can you carry out a photographic study of one of the oldest ranching communities in the nation (my cousins are sixth generation Alameda County ranchers), and also explore the public school experience and the fusion of many different cultures in one of the most famous (infamous) urban school districts in the country (I taught in the Oakland public schools for several years)? For many, the traditional, rural ranching way of life and the multi-ethnic and immigrant experience in the inner city are at opposite ends of the cultural spectrum in the United States, but they’re both here in Alameda County.

For me photography is a process of exploration in which I’m continually discovering new things. In my work I strive to go beyond the act of documenting, to reveal something special—about an individual, about a place, about an experience, about humanity, about life itself. I like to share my perceptions of what I find special about people and life with others. I like it when my work helps other people to recognize something special that previously they might not have appreciated. Love is the most important thing in life, and I think, when you boil it down, that’s what my photographs are about.