Meat & Potatoes

Local Photographer

The last week of December 2019, I went to my hometown of Moline, Illinois. Staring out my grandmother’s windows and front door, onto a block where she has lived for more than 50 years, then moving across the street about 10 years ago to a smaller, more manageable house, I thought to myself, “I need to go shoot.” I grabbed my camera and wandered the streets and alleys where I spent my early childhood with my brother and cousins, who grew up on the same few blocks. Walking around, my goal in shooting was to look for both the views that were either sentimental in some form or had some Midwestern aesthetic tone. A few accomplished both.

When people ask me where I’m from, I simply reply “Illinoisnotchicago.” The state, besides Chicago, is like much of the Midwest, the stereotypical flyover space to people on the coasts refer to and the place every four years where national political candidates laud as being the “real America” and the “heartland” while briefly speaking to Generic Diner Customers. And that Generic Diner title is something to be proud of. There is nothing bougie or fancy about the non-major metropolitan areas of the Midwest. But it something you crave, or at least have fond memories of. The cheese in the macaroni and cheese is one variety and there is no bragging about its flavor profiles. No one is putting raisins in the potato salad. Pork tenderloins must be at least the diameter of a human head. Meat and potatoes is dinner and no one is going to complain.

Backyards

Green and Pink

It Has Always Looked Like This

Paternal Twins

Blue House with a Red Door

Moline is part of the Quad City Area, a region containing [more than] four cities in Illinois and Iowa, split by the Mississippi River. It never seems to be a well-known area as I try to explain it to people, however every once in a while, no matter what part of the country I happen to be in, someone has some connection to it. It must be the Uncle-In-Ohio Syndrome that the Midwest brings to the rest of the country. Just as urban developers have copied off each other’s homework when designing new housing now, the same thing seems to have been done in my grandmother’s neighborhood. Tube televisions that took up a lot of space in a living room have been replaced by flat screens that can be easily mounted to a wall, the cars and trucks now are not built to withstand a nuclear apocalypse, and there are many more options in vinyl siding (there are a lot of local commercials for vinyl siding). That said, the uniformity remains; like the Midwestern ethos, it is pragmatic, simple in form, and exudes humility.

The Synapses of Nostalgia I Had Here…

I was looking forward to shooting more photos during a planned trip in April 2020. Unfortunately, Covid-19 was spread across the world and all plans have been postponed. With that said, I cannot wait to build upon these photos when I return, to both have more from the area and hopefully have improved views and perspectives.

The Need to Refresh

I have had intentions of refreshing and updating this website for a while but was bogging myself down with unnecessary details that I deemed important; they really were not so I decided to just start over. Blogs were written but were never published (maybe I should do that!), and both my distracted self and sometimes overwhelmed self never did anything with what I had.  At the same time, I realized my taste in what I was shooting changed, my ability in both shooting and editing had greatly improved, and, most importantly, I had so much more to add. 

Redoing this page was tedious yet fun as I went back and looked at the proverbial pile of photos I had saved on my computer (staying up until 2:00am to finish it in one night was a struggle but I guess we need to reminisce about college every now and then). Where the photos were posted, the content of them, the layout, whether they were color or monochrome, all of this I took into consideration. At the same time, all of the photos in my portfolio have some sort of story attached to them; none I see as just raw photos I edited to look decent as jpegs.

With this all said, thanks for checking me out again. I prefer you do it on a bigger screen than a phone but I appreciate any means necessary. I promise to post more here, both in writing as well as photos.

The Necessity of Travel

"Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund."—Anthony Bourdain

The combination of Instagram and moving to Philadelphia in September 2013 is what led me into photography. My goal was to become acquainted with this new city I was in and did this by wandering the streets in my free time; knowing no one and having no plans while having no money, this was a lot of time. I started posting what looked interesting, then delved into the world of hashtags, started following people, and seeing where they were posting from, further learning what this city was all about and where to visit. Doing this not only helped me learn the city itself, but also subconsciously learned how to shoot better photos. What I did not realize I was doing was never being stagnant or complacent. While I thought to myself “I am never bored here”, I used this urge to travel to both learn the ins and outs of Philadelphia as well as to look for the continuously new.

Beyond this introduction of my interest in photography, I learned that the drive to shoot and shoot better was based on the need to explore. One cannot sit at home or go to the familiar places and expect results or improvements. Looking back at what I was first posting, both with the tools I had and the lack of knowledge of what I was doing, the results are laughably bad to me (for the record, I would never criticize anyone except myself on the work they put out as I am my own worst critic). I did not know this at the time and this ignorance is bliss sense of naivete made me want to do more. I am still shocked and grateful for the support of who I consider several of the city’s best photographers following me. I was a nobody with a phone on his camera and was instantly welcomed into this community. The lack of elitism and overall comradery I experienced during my first Instameets, not only killed the prejudice I had against Philadelphians, but continuously pushed me to try new things and never stop exploring, either alone or with others. My time was spent scrolling and mentally taking notes on what I aspired to do.

In Philadelphia, I have been invited to many unique places, from community gardens to museums to five-star hotels, and I jump at the chance to both see these spaces for what they are while doing my best to promote these places via Instagram. While I have never been paid for these events, that is not the point and I do not care. I have met so many great people along the way, with photography barely being in our conversations. And all I want is more, to continue to see every aspect of the city and to further be around these people.

With this all said, photography makes me want to travel as much as possible and away from the traditionally tourist areas as much as possible. Going to New York City (a city I hope to become much more familiar with) for the day, choosing an area to explore and shoot in is an adventure to me and I seek more of that across the world, either solo or with others. Life is too short to be stagnant, to want to only see the familiar, and the ability to see, either by traveling or at the very least reading, and experience something new, whether in the same area code or across the world should constantly be a goal for people.

Explore. Wander. Get lost. Lose your prejudices. Eat what you’ve never eaten before. Take a camera with you.