What makes a great picture has nothing to do with price tags.
I'm never the gearhead type of photog. I don't care what just came on the market or which lens is the sharpest. I'm not reading gear blogs or fighting sensor specs in forums.
I've always approached photography as an art form first, above all. In my eyes, tools are tools—a bridge connecting what I feel and what I'd like to communicate with the outside world.
The Tools Serve the Vision—Not the Other Way Around
Yes, I've upgraded my camera once or twice—but always for utility reasons. My recent change wasn't about status or specs. I needed something compact, quiet, and beneficial. A camera that I could keep in my pocket and in my life.
That's how I operate:
Under the radar. Intuitively. With tools that enable the moment, not dominate it.
"Hand an amateur a Leica and a pro a point-and-shoot—the pro will still make the better image."
It's not the tool. It's the eye.
Asking Picasso what kind of brush he used. That would not make a difference. Because he did make a difference. The eye. The instinct. The heart of the work.
I Shoot How I See: Real, Honest, Unfiltered
Something else about me—I don't over-process my photos.
I might make a tiny adjustment here or there, but overall, what you're looking at is what I was looking at. And that's intentional.
I want to document life as it happens.
Real. Flawed. Authentic.
While going through hundreds of thousands of vintage photos—photos which never were retouched—I discovered that's the kind of photography that resonates with me. The not retouched. The real. The imperfect.
And honestly?
It pains me to see faces photoshopped into plastics.
Parents photoshopping themselves out of visibility in photos with their kids. One day, those kids will look back—and they won't even register the real people who brought them up. That's not just sad. It's erasure.
I Care Deeply—But I'm Not Rigid
I care deeply about what I do. But I'm designed to do it loosely.
I had one client who wanted each shot to be absolutely perfect in-camera—no angling, no cutting. That was not how I work. I tried it. It felt like they were asking me to do another's process instead of using my own.
I am always eager to work with someone.
If a customer is not satisfied with my edit? I'd be happy to deliver the RAW files for a small extra fee. It's about trust. And trust is founded on respect—for the way I visualize, the way I photograph, and the way I understand the moment.
For the past five years, I've also steered clear of cropping client photos. I send them full-sized. Why? Because how someone may use a photo can shift. And I'd rather leave that to them.
I'm Not a Content Creator. I'm a Storyteller.
Fads rise and fall—faster than ever.
I don't go after them. I never have.
The pros I admire don't either.
Maybe trends are wonderful for clicks. Maybe they do actually work on social.
But that's not the reason I'm here.
I'm not an influencer.
I'm not a content creator.
I'm a feeler. A storyteller. An artist.
And I create things because I want to, and for the people who actually get what I do.
"The best camera is the one you have with you."
That's another mantra that I live by.
And so it's true. To everybody, that is a phone. And for goodness' sake, that's good enough. I have photographed colleagues who take excellent pictures of their work on their phones. It's not about what you're holding—just what you're looking at.
Final Thoughts
If you're wondering whether or not your gear is good enough—
Let me give you a time-saver:
It is. You are.
Don't let perfectness stand in the way of your expression.
Start where you are.
Use what you have.
Feel everything.
And shoot like it counts—because it does.