The concept behind my photo was inspired by Walt Whitman's poem entitled "Song of Myself." Whitman discusses the importance of appreciating the world in its natural beauty. How this is the only way we as people can achieve true happiness. With the new technological advancements we have made in the past couple decades, I rarely see people admiring something as simple as a spear of grass penetrating the water surface. In this, it is easy to forget that we were created above the earth and we will die beneath the earth, and as we decompose, the bodies we leave behind will be the fuel and nutrients for new life. “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.” I think of death fondly, for in its rebirth, my bones will feed the worms who create the dirt that will be carried on the boot-soles of my great grandchildren for generations to come. This cyclic and wonderful world is something to be cherished and appreciated. This picture captures a woman who has recently passed. As she looks into the pond, she does not see her reflection, she has died. But, she does see the water, the soil, the leaves quivering in the wind. The fact that she is dead does not concern her, for she knows she will be immortalized in all of the nature that surrounds her.

While I was stuck waiting out the rain with some friends I decided to take a photo of one of them standing out in the rain.

This piece was part of a series for UCSF's Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building. The series was created during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic and I used photography as a creative outlet and to build a community during that isolation.

This piece is a response to my current sustained investigation which explores an outsider's point of view. This particular image was shot early in the morning and depicts an empty diner, illuminated on the inside. I thought the shot exemplified my inquiry topic well -- being an outsider, looking into a lit space in the dark of night. I used 35mm 800 iso color film and used Photopea to adjust the scan's levels and hues.