The Natural State in Four Seasons

I'm happy to announce that an exhibition of my work, titled "The Natural State in Four Seasons," is now on display at Laman Library in North Little Rock. The show contains 33 photographs taken across the varied landscapes of Arkansas over the last fourteen years.  Locations in the show include the Buffalo National River, Blanchard Springs and Hot Springs National Park. But there are also pictures from less visited locations, like an oxbow lake in the Delta or a waterfall deep in the Ozark Mountains.



There are many things that Artificial Intelligence is hurting, and one of those is the art of photography. True photography requires skill and patience, and the ability to be at the exact right place, at the exact right time, with the exact right conditions (along with a fair amount of luck). It is much more than fake images attempting to be a lame facsimile of reality. It is my hope that this exhibition showcases photography for the art form that it is, one that is under assault from those who see it as nothing but “content” to post on social media for us to see between ads and scams.



One of the photographs in the show is of the setting sun hitting the summit of Pinnacle Mountain, which makes it look as if Pinnacle Mountain is erupting. This photo was taken from Two Rivers Park Bridge, and there is only a brief period every year where the sun and mountain are perfectly aligned for this to occur. In order to get this picture, the horizon also has to be clear. Clouds in the sky can obscure the sun, even clouds that are hundreds of miles away.



Other photographs represent similar moments - a swirl of fallen leaves caught in a current below a waterfall. Thick fog reflecting the bright lights on the Clinton Park Bridge, turning the night sky into a deep shade of purple. The explosions of fireworks over the State Capitol Building, captured by the camera during a 1.6 second exposure. These images could have probably been much easier achieved through some Photoshop edits, or some prompts on AI. But the photographs on display at Laman Library represent real and decisive moments. Ones that I hope serve as a reminder of how powerful and important photography can be.



To view the other photos in the exhibition, please visit HERE.



The exhibition is open now, and I'd like to kindly invite anyone reading this to please head on down to Laman Library to check out the show (2801 Orange Street in North Little Rock, gallery is on the second floor). There will be an opening reception on Friday, Oct. 18th, from 6-8 PM. The show will be on display until November 27th.



Here is the Artist's Statement I put together for the show:

It was almost what you’d imagine hiking through a rainforest would be like, except we were still in Arkansas. A storm earlier that day had saturated the woods, turning the leaves into a deep green too vibrant to be real. Water puddled on the trail, which at times looked more like a small creek flowing through the woods. The only sounds were raindrops hitting the trees and the wet squishy sound of our hiking boots in the mud.

The trail was heading towards a waterfall as unique as its name - Fuzzybutt Falls. It is a delicate 16-foot-tall waterfall, sitting at the end of a short and narrow box canyon deep in the Ozark Mountains. It started to storm again when we arrived. The sounds of heavy rain, combined with the splash of the waterfall, created a cacophony of sound that echoed off the rocky canyon walls. But those canyon walls also provided shelter from the rain, allowing us to freely move about without worrying about getting soaked. We spent a lot of time there taking pictures, from just about every conceivable angle, reluctant to leave. Eventually we set the cameras down and just watched as the raindrops rippled across the creek, and the waterfall slowly and steadily increased its flow.



I know it sounds cliche, but sitting under those rocky bluffs while a storm raged on was a peaceful and sublime moment; one of those rare moments when things seem to perfectly converge, when you are at the right place at the exact right time you need to be there. The photographs in this exhibition are more than just snapshots. Each one represents a unique moment that I was lucky enough to capture with a camera. I’m humbled and grateful that you are here to see them.



Increasingly, it seems that photography is being devalued in our ultra-modern and overly-online world. Photographs are being reduced to nothing more than content on social media feeds, squeezed unceremoniously between ads and spam. But photography is much more than just a way to get likes and engagement. At its best, photography is a way to showcase and document the world and our times. To paraphrase a quote: We don’t just take photographs, we ask quietly to borrow a fraction of time. To preserve that fleeting moment, which would have otherwise floated on like raindrops hitting a creek.



These photographs were taken with either a Canon 6D or an Olympus E-30, between 2010 and 2024. They are the culmination of countless trips spent driving or hiking across the state, from the Delta to the Ozarks. I would like to thank Richard Theilig and everyone at Laman Library for hosting this exhibition. Also I would like to thank Matt Kennedy and Zack Andrews, my hiking and photography buddies, who accompanied me on many of these trips (including the one to Fuzzybutt), and who helped make sure I didn’t get lost in the woods or fall off a cliff.



And I cannot thank enough my wife Caroline for her encouragement and infinite patience. And also my sons Jonah and Elliott for all the times they’ve indulged their father stopping to take a picture of an old barn. I would never have been able to take these photographs, or put on this show, without their support.

Intruders In The Dirt: The Architecture and Landscape of the Arkansas Delta

I'm excited to announce that an exhibition of my photography has just opened at the Laman Library in North Little Rock. It includes 33 pictures taken over the past 10 years, which showcases the architecture and landscape of the Arkansas Delta. Many of the photos in the exhibition are of buildings and structures that have been abandoned or are threatened to be torn down. Included in the show are notable places like the Hotel Pines and the Saenger Theater in Pine Bluff, and the Riceland Hotel in Stuttgart. But the exhibition also includes humble and seemingly forgotten places like abandoned farmhouses and country churches. Several of the places that have been photographed have since been torn down or destroyed since the photos were taken.



The Delta region contains a rich and vibrant history, but many of the Delta's historical places could soon be lost. The goal of this project was to showcase these places, in the hopes that some of them could be saved. And if that isn't possible, to document them before they are lost forever.



This exhibition was orginially supposed to debut in 2020, but has been delayed twice thanks to stuff like the pandemic. I'm so happy that it is finally up on the walls. I humbly invite anyone who reads this to please visit the Laman Library (2801 Orange Street in North Little Rock), the gallery is on the second floor. The exhibit will be up until September 23. There will be an opening reception on Friday, July 22nd from 5:30 to 7:30.



Here's the Artist's Statement that I put together for the show. I hope anyone reading this can check out the show at Laman Library, from now until September. Thanks!

Even though I had permission to be there, it felt like I was breaking and entering. That was mostly because I was entering via a broken window, like a thief in the night. The remains of the wooden boards that once covered the window had already been roughly kicked aside and were scattered on the ground amongst a mosaic of broken glass, which popped and cracked as I carefully stepped through. It felt eerie and wrong, like I was entering a neglected tomb.

Beyond was the lobby of a once grand hotel, which had been left abandoned for several decades. Its current condition was rough, a far cry from the luxurious landmark that it once was. The fine marble floors were covered with a thick layer of dust and debris. The stained glass in the skylight was gone, and rain water had been allowed to pour through holes in the roof. The marble steps were fractured and crumbling. There was that sweet and pungent smell of decay, and an eerie stillness that muffled the sounds of the street outside. Cool air that was caught on a current passed through the building with a chill, like a ghost sweeping by. Above all was that pervasive sense of melancholy that seems to infect all forgotten places.

The hotel was the Hotel Pines in Pine Bluff, which opened in 1913 but closed in 1970. After decades of abandonment, it was sold in 2017 and plans have been made for its revival. But other buildings in the Arkansas Delta are not so lucky. Just a few blocks from the Hotel Pines is the old Saenger Theater, an architectural masterpiece that is crumbling away. Every year, more homes and buildings in the Delta are lost to arson, the bulldozer or just the unending assault of gravity and weather on weary structures.



The Delta region of eastern Arkansas is an area filled with rich history and culture. But economic and cultural changes have led to a steep decline in population in many Delta communities. Once bustling cities now have boarded up and closed downtowns, and many old homes and churches are abandoned and empty. These buildings and places represent generations of lives; of people who lived, suffered, rejoiced, and worked amongst these ruins.



This project was undertaken in order to help showcase the architecture of the Delta, with a focus on its historic and abandoned structures. The hope is that these photographs might help bring attention to these places, and perhaps even help in some of them being saved. And if that is not possible, to at least document them before they disappear. There is no way to replace a structure once it is gone, but a small capture of time that is preserved in a photograph can suggest, in a merest whisper, that somehow we might be able to hold onto a place for just a little bit longer.



These photographs were taken with either a Canon 6D, an Olympus E-30 or an Olympus EM-5, between 2012 and 2022. They represent several thousand miles driven across the state, and hours of work spent researching and editing. I would like to thank Richard Theilig and everyone at the Laman Library for hosting this exhibition. It’s a honor for me to have my photographs on display at my hometown library, near where I used to read books in the children’s section or did research in high school.



And I can not thank enough my wife Caroline for her encouragement and infinite patience. And also my sons Jonah and Elliott for all the time I spent away driving out towards old buildings. I would never have been able to take these pictures, or put on this show, without their support.