What My Left Hand is Doing
In the fall of 2023 I found myself at a crisis point, a crossroads. I was hitting a wave of artistic burnout, something I experience from time to time, and I was fighting my age-old frustration with social media, specifically the way that sharing photos, even really strong ones that I'm proud of, never seems to lead to much response when I share them online. This swirl of emotion brought me to a point where I was forced to step back and reevaluate how I present myself and my work, and after some deliberation I decided to pursue this project to help me work through these issues. Inspired by the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus tells us to "not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing," I chose to stop sharing my work for what ended up being a whole year, focusing on what makes me happy and fulfilled as an artist instead of chasing likes on social media. This time away was followed by a year of writing about my experiences and photos, giving myself the chance to express what my work means to me with words rather than just images. Looking back at the project now that it’s complete, I feel that it did help me reorient my thinking around my mission of seeking out the Ordered World, and I am at peace and excited to see what the future will bring!
Clicking on any image will take you to the blog post the quote next to it is from.
“I love finding scenes that are bursting with detail, and this one was exceptional in that way, the displays full of memorabilia and lighted signs, jerseys and stained glass. It took me a moment to compose my shot, adjusting my tripod in the cramped entryway, but I think my photo conveys the jumble of kitsch properly, the colorful neon lights and assortment of shapes beckoning the viewer to take it all in at a glance.”
“…Overall I get a very calm feeling from the photo, a spiritual presence emanating from the natural surroundings, despite its location in an industrial area. I believe this spiritual presence is what I responded to when I chose to take this photo, and it was an ideal way to end our lunch shoot, a refreshing moment before we headed back and tackled the end of the work week.”
“In the very back I discovered a beautiful scene where vivid red vines draped gracefully above the brick, while blue smokestacks clustered in a corner of the frame, balancing out the composition nicely. Little patches of color echo the dominant tones of the photo—the pale blue door is just a few shades lighter than the building in the background, and a tiny red sticker on the left-hand door matches the plants perfectly. I enjoy finding scenes like this; it's always a thrill to stumble across something perfectly ordered and calm!”
“…I composed the photo this way to good effect; the Key Bank building gives a sense of scale and solidity to the scene, contrasting with Nick, apparently in motion, on his motorcycle in the bottom left-hand corner. As I constantly say, I seek order in my photos above all, and here everything falls into place, although with more art direction from me than normal.”
“In the Extraction, I focused on a green-painted window, my reflection barely visible in the background while flowing sections of white bounce between straight lines that mimic the edge of the frame. This is one of my favorite photos of the day; like the photo of the antique shop the week before, it feels different than the other Extractions I have made in the past, opening up new territory for me to explore!”
“I was shooting intuitively, not unlike Eggleston, and these subjects spoke to me the most that afternoon. Everything was calm and peaceful, and I felt a spiritual Presence once again, blessing me with the vision to see what needed to be seen there. This moment formed a beautiful coda to the previous week of shooting, slowing me down and helping me appreciate the small things once more…”
“I am happy, though, that I ended up here at this particular moment, as the dying embers of sunlight provide just the right amount of lighting for this scene, illuminating the very top of the sign. There's a good division in the composition between the still-bright sky and the ground that lies in shadow, reinforced by my subframing which places the sign inside of a box made by power lines and telephone poles. I enjoy the metaphor of the sun setting, possibly for the final time, on this old business, leaving behind a darkened shadow of what it used to be, caged by the growth around it.”
“The Santa Claus in the window shown here has a vintage quality to him—I wouldn't be surprised to see him pop up in a window during A Christmas Story, or maybe the list of pizza toppings he carries could be the subject of a joke in Home Alone. The retro aesthetic appeals to me more than modern decorations do…”
“Really, the tree is also man-made, surely allowed to be in this front yard due to someone's choice to fit it into their vision of this space. Still, though, the vibe I get from this image is one of man vs nature—we can't control everything, and to me there is a strong contrast between these different elements, a tension between the tree and the houses that makes the photo strong!”
“I had one subject in mind, the Fork in the Road, which used to represent a restaurant (named the same) but which for many years now has stood on its own after the business closed. This subject feels like something that Stephen Shore or Joel Sternfeld would find interesting, and I was finally, after years of passing it almost daily, ready to capture it for myself.”
“Taking that photo, I felt once again like Joel Sternfeld or Stephen Shore, as the lighting, subject matter, and composition I chose all are reminiscent to me of their work. I could feel the Ordered World there with me as I made these images, and I am glad that, although I left that day with still only a surface level understanding of Pittsburgh, I nevertheless was able to make several photos that express the peace I felt in that moment!”
“As I was getting ready to take this shot the sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds, giving the scene beautiful highlights and shadows and elevating the feeling of beauty here even more. I made a couple more photos of this cemetery, finishing the roll, but this composition stands out as the best representation of what I experienced and felt in that moment.”
“Of note in these shots is the total absence of people; while some of my camp photos feel complete without kids running around or staff being present, all of these images show man-made objects in a state of disuse, underlining the lack of humans here. They feel to me like the calm before the storm, because I know that in a few short weeks the dust will be flying on the track, and people will be traversing the sledding hill daily.”
“As the epilogue to What My Left Hand is Doing, I couldn't have asked for a better experience—I was in my groove, confidently seeking out and finding creative compositions, strong subjects, and above all Transcendence waiting for me down every street and behind every building.”
“I absolutely felt something spiritual in that moment—the world still and calm around me, silent except for the voices of those who had opened the trailer door, just around the corner but not intruding on the scene. This moment was a good reminder that I may have changed since those college days, but my sense of who I am and what my purpose is hasn't!”
“I walked to the East Race Liquors store next, where I knew that their faded Coca-Cola sign would make an interesting subject on such a cloudy day. Once again I employed the stoplight and power lines to sub-frame different parts of the photo, organizing it into an orderly grid and emphasizing the sign in the middle. I shot a few more photos and finished the roll afterwards, but this shot is my crowning achievement from the roll, perfectly capturing the street corner the way I wanted.”
“…Lights behind caused the fabric to glow beautifully, and I knew that there was a perfect photo in there somewhere… I crafted my most perfect abstract photo yet, a flat plane dominated by pink and white, with blurred reflections of the street in front and distorted tree branches hazily poking through from behind. If I didn't just describe the content of this photo it would be difficult for the viewer to know what it is; I have therefore achieved a level of abstraction that I had not reached until taking this shot.”
“…This photo has a particularly Eggleston vibe to me; perhaps it's the style of the Nehi Beverages sign that is reminiscent of the subjects he often chose in his shots of the the South. I don't remember if I consciously made that connection as I took this photo, but I always enjoy seeing the different ways my influences spill out as I photograph!”
“In that moment I looked over to one side of the stream, seeing a pattern of leaves, sand, and tree roots on the bank, and for a second time that evening I heard the Voice say ‘take this photo.’ I know that in that moment, as before, I became a vessel for something beyond myself, something almost beyond my understanding.”
“…To this arrangement I added splashes of red in every direction, with a red house to the left, red car in the center, and some red mulch at the bottom matching the red signs and wall. Despite the straight-on angle I chose, the road and the power lines contribute a sense of motion to the photo, as if there are things entering and leaving the frame at any given moment.”
“But this image is elevated by the implied political questions raised by the signage—is America the place of No Admittance, or does it stand opposed to that idea? Should we perceive different elements of our society as forming a broader picture of our culture, or can we separate the good from the bad? Even if we can separate these ideas, won't one always overshadow the other?… I am able to occasionally make a statement that means something, that gets me thinking.”
“At the beginning of October I had tried to take this shot, but, as it was on 35mm and an unfamiliar Leica, I didn't nail it the way I wanted to. Here, though, all the pieces come together—the assortment of buildings and power lines form a pleasing composition, the various elements in the foreground like the deer statues and lawnmower provide points of interest, and the strip of sunlight running through the center of the photo elevates the subject matter beyond my initial attempt.”
“This time, happily, the flat light of a grey morning was exactly what I needed, and I captured the scene to my satisfaction. Under the diffuse light, the colors seen here—the red leaves of a small tree, the inexplicably green grass, the blue-tinted windows of the car—pop with just the right amount of saturation, and the different elements all balance each other out beautifully.”
“The resulting photo is practically perfect—the fog lends a real atmosphere to the scene, letting headstones and trees fade into the background and emphasizes the triangular shape that the three tallest monuments form across the picture plane. The tree that initially caught my eye is stunning, an organic, twisting shape framing the cemetery from above that adds an element of wildness to an otherwise orderly vision.”
“When I drove by the sign for Bonnie Doon, a local fast-food chain, I knew I had found another ideal subject, and I stopped there and shot my last four photos. The evening turned gorgeous in a way that only a sunset on a clear day can, with a bluish-purple glow behind the sign that sets the scene perfectly and compliments the colors in the foreground.”
“I think the photos speak for themselves, conveying the spiritual and mental happiness I felt as the remnants of winter merged into spring, and my depression began to lift with the changing of seasons. March 2024 was about being in the moment, simply moving with the flow of the Ordered World…”
“On my way there I stopped and photographed a giant chicken statue at the Rise N Shine Cafe just outside of Niles; like many photographers in my genre, I am compelled by such an example of American kitsch, and in this case the flags flying around it just add to the sense I have that this is a uniquely American phenomenon, or at least that we've perfected it.”
“The resulting photo demonstrates the contrast between sky and sea well—dark clouds slash across the top of the composition, framing everything within their threatening aura, while the rocks scattered across the foreground seem totally rooted in the water, unlikely to move unless presented with the most dire circumstances.”
