Scarred Pennsylvania - 2018My Senior ThesisPennsylvania was once covered in dense, old growth forests of white pine, eastern hemlock, and more. The trees were torn down for fuel and shelter until they found a “better” alternative. Coal mines began forming across the state. Shortly thereafter, iron ore was mined from the mountains. Soon, the rivers ran black with runoff, poisoning the drinking water. Coal was the main provider of energy until fracking began in the early 2000s. Neither of these sources of energy are clean by any means, but they are how we power our lives. This state is also home to the only nuclear power plant incident in the United Sates. Pennsylvania has since found alternative sources of energy like solar, wind, and hydroelectricity. However, these sources are still a small percentage of Pennsylvania’s energy production. PA continues to frack for oil and mine for coal, polluting the nearby water supply. Scarred Pennsylvania highlights the positives and negatives in extraction industry and energy production in Pennsylvania. Renewable energy is possible in Pennsylvania and should be used more frequently, if not all the time.
East to West - 2016This series was meant to encapsulate the differences between the landscapes of the east and west coasts. Using compositional elements, I attempted to depict and highlight some of the vast uniqueness that is both coasts. To do this I travelled to Cape May New Jersey, East and Central Pennsylvania, Olympic National Park in Washington, and the lower Cascade Range also in Washington. Seeing these places was amazing and I can only hope to see even more.
Flour Portraits 2016
Rush Hour - 2015 This series was inspired by a photographic essay on what appeared to be an abandoned New York City. I saw the work once in an article and have never been able to find it since. The reason I call this series “Rush Hour” is because all of these images were taken around 5pm on Monday evenings. To capture these images, I used exposures between 5 and 10 minutes as well as a few other tricks.