First Shoots
The beginning of my photography
I had preemptively decided that for the beginning of my journey into photography I needed tools that could serve several of my core needs. I ended up settling on the IPhone 17 Pro Max as it would become my first camera and dedicated business phone. This checked several of the most important boxes I needed checked off. I acquired several Shiftcam lenses at 16mm, 60mm, and 75mm macro. Once it all arrived I set out immediately to test my eye. Here are a few examples from my very first sessions.
Before the first photograph was taken I had thought that I may need to edit but was hoping to not have to edit. Quickly after I began shooting I realized that I indeed had no need to edit and instead I could focus my practice on continuing to refine my eye and mastering my tools. The more I framed a shot and executed the final work I solidified my workflow. Straight out of camera, no crop, no edit, 0EV, shot in jpeg was locked in as my definitive ritual. From the very beginning my focus was on the human condition and the spirit there of. This method allowed me to focus entirely on being present and mastering the art of finishing it in camera.
Finding Myself
Devotion, Exploration, Reflection
From before the beginning I had dedicated this path as a monument to God The Father. In doing this I had to look at myself as I looked at others and ask myself what am I pursuing in myself? Many questions and debates formed internally that I wrestled with. At the end of that conflict I was guided to just keep taking photos and everything else would come. Having faith and continuing to create every day. I did not manage to take photos every single day. I was quickly finding that I was taking about 250-350 photos per session. No burst mode just singular clicks as I worked the environment and the light. On occasion I would take as much as 1,000 photos in a day. Pattern's started to emerge as I did this.
I realized I had been including myself subconsciously in the archive periodically. I was drawn to the shapes and contrast in the hidden act of observation. I was no longer documenting the human condition of others exclusively but also of myself. In every photograph I took of others I was silently documenting myself behind the lens. I would appear as a shadow in an Iris, the light of the subject would sometimes change depending on how I was positioned in the world both directly through my own bodily affect on the light and how I managed the light and composition with my own bodily movements. The expressions others had on their face and the way they allowed me to document them was a signifier of my presence. I had quickly realized that I am finding myself in every single frame that I compose. This was not limited to humanity but also to the world and the objects within it.
Four Month Journey
Photography, Fervent, Unyielding
I had begun my entry into photography in its totality within the year 2026 and I dedicated 100% of my effort to capturing the truth of the world, no looking back, no retreat. This was not a fleeting hobby this was a life line and a sacred promise. I have three children and a wife and a conviction to God the Father. I had lead a never ending grind in other fields that had nearly killed me. This was my reclamation. Below is a time line of the Year 2026 so far.
First Time Entry Into Photography / Professional Photography
March 25th / 2026
Entered Apple Ecosystem
February 14th / 2026
LLC Formation
March 2026.
March 3rd / 2026
Shiftcam Lenses
March 25th / 2026
First Vero Post
April 9th / 2026
Portfolio Site
April 28th / 2026
Canon EOS 40D + Tokina
May 6th / 2026
Retired: Canon EOS 40D + Tokina
Inherited Legacy
May 8th / 2026
Death and Legacy
Perspective, Weight, Time
A few years ago I had been working in the field of adults with disabilities. It was intimate grueling work that really showed me the weight of the world beyond what I had already seen. This was certainly an industry when it should not have been. Apart from the lack of empathy I witnessed during my time in this field I myself had been burnt out and had been working 80 hour weeks for over a year. I faced hardship that moved me from one department to another then I moved into being a contractor for the state in the same field. My new 40 hours quickly became 120 hours. I sustained this for six months then I ended up pushing my body and mind to its absolute limits. I ended up having a stroke, nearly dying and missing out on the near entirety of my son’s first year of life and we ended up losing our apartment. I worked less than minimum wage seven days a week at a boutique shop in a mall but the job was easy on my body and I could work less physically. I left there due to being forced to work everyday. I then worked for minimum wage at a big box store then at a coffee shop. I then pursued DoorDash for better income and landed in photography as my lifeblood and devotion with no turning back.
I was gifted the Canon EOS 40D after I had been using the IPhone for a time and I fell in love with it immediately. Every thing that got in my way with the phone removed itself entirely in the 40D. The tactile feel, the weight, the glass, the rendering, everything about this camera shown a soul within a machine. This was my dad’s camera that he passed onto me to support my work. I had it in my possession for 48 hours and then the shutter gave up its life suddenly after a brief delay in the shutter moving. Error 99. I was devastated yet the next day I grabbed the phone again and kept framing the world. Here are a few pictures I captured plus a link to my photos taken with the 40D before it died.
20,000+ Frames Executed
Perspective, Weight, Time
Above are two screenshots showing a snippet of my photos app. The image with the selections shows in the bottom the total amount of photographs I have on this device as the time of this writing. The other image is a zoomed out over view of a part of my total shots taken. I would need to take a few more to show the whole collection in this zoomed out view. Photography has been a daily ritual and I have no intentions of stopping. Thankfully since I leverage small file size formats I have an extensive amount of storage capability. In the daily ritual I am present in the act of pure observation. Everything else melts away into the background and only the frames of the world are in my sight. After the conclusion of a session I am back into the world in the way most people expierence it. The weight of the world comes roaring back to bring in all of its chaos. The time I spend working the light seems infinite yet fleeting while I am present in the moment. Pure observation. Pure perspective. I am not a hunter I am a wonderer. My time is spent looking for the wonder in the mundane and catching the essence of it in the every day to show to you as seen through my eyes.
Japan Visitation
Documenting The Traditional Arts & Farmers
I will be traveling to Japan to document and preserve traditional arts and agriculture through the medium of photography. With my philosophy of Truth through Witness and Presence SOOC, No Crop, No Edit I will be committing to Fine Art Documentary.
Continuing Eye
Tools of The Sovereign Observer
After the death of the 40D I was later gifted a Canon EOS R50. As my first entry into the mirrorless philosophy I found that it was getting I’m my way of pure observation. It took about a week and a half to dominate the system. I realized very quickly its automatic settings meant to assist the user were actively destroying my consistency. During that time I turned off every setting and was forced to use non HDR JPEGs for my workflow. I disabled all the assist settings and turned the dial to manual while also setting the camera to manual focus. The only way I can get the results I want with the R50 is to override the camera entirely and treating more like an analogue camera than a mirrorless one. It is working yet it is cumbersome. I am using three different lenses. Across the below photos.
Tokina AT-X 116 AF Pro DX 11-16mm f2.8
Canon EF28-135mm f3.8-5.6 IS USM
Canon RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM
The camera systems and gear that I will be acquiring for my future work is as follows.
ShiftCam V.Series Directors Kit
Leica M11 Monochrome
Hasselblad X2D II 100C
Nikon ZF
note: I had set my eyes on the Hasselblad and Leica Systems until I found that the Nikon ZF exists. It fulfills everything I want and need out of a camera while suiting my working class philosophy. Nikon has been my dream camera brand since I was enthralled with them as a child and now there is a Nikon that captures the very things I fell in love with about Nikon while providing the heavily tactile durable body I loved about the Canon 40D while bringing the perfect infrastructure for my SOOC philosophy with a modern edge.
With the acquisition of the ZF I will be begin to pursue color photography as well. The main reason I have not published in color although I have shot in color is I have not been satisfied with the quality of the color the IPhone or the R50 output so I have opted to not publish in color since I do not get results or consistency that meets my standards. I shoot SOC, JPEG, No crop, No Edit regardless of the system in my hands.
My philosophy is not up for debate and my vision is not for sale. Any art I make is an agreement between God and myself.
Patronage & Artifacts
Limited Edition Monographs, Prints, & Patron RECOGNITION
I will be celebrating my first 4 months of photography and my 20,000+ archive wth limited run of coffee table photo books / monographs and gallery prints all printed through and fulfilled through White Wall Printing.
I will be releasing unpublished works through these mediums in limited quantity’s to help support the furthering of my work in these early stages. With these short four months I am getting industry recognition across Vero, Irys.photo, and Instagram.
This conviction, this journey, these works.
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Interested patrons who wish to back this legacy may click on the links below.
Equipping the Witness