l have come to discover that one of my core interests is how I am present in my work; specifically how I am the progenitor of reactions and ideas that unfold in my compositions. Years ago when making photographs in the streets I would release the shutter only milliseconds after raising the camera to my eye. The speed usually afforded me a composition where my subject was fully engaged in a world or activity that was mostly oblivious to my presence. But in this body of work l raised the camera to my eye and waited until the subject recognized my presence. In that time I allowed myself to feel the tension and excitement peak just as I would release the shutter. It’s not easy to lock gazes with a stranger and paradoxically even less so when my camera is in between us. The document of that moment experienced between me and one of the eight million inhabitants of New York City is invaluable to me; even the outtakes. It’s an acknowledgment of life... of being alive.
