BECAUSE TELLING THE STORY MATTERS…
It all started with a girl. I think most good stories do. For years, Deidra had been after me to pursue wet plate photography. Her love of collodion aesthetics inspired me to travel down the rabbit hole. An ever expanding hole with a slim chance of escape.
When we met in 2011, a dynamic creative relationship began.
Many people say that Phoenix is lacking culture. I beg to differ. Culture is all around us. There are stories unfolding, dreams becoming manifest, and histories to uncover everywhere. Sitting at our local hangout Carly’s, looking at Troy for the first time, I knew I was looking at my future somehow. For the first few years of our life together we would take our cameras and walk the streets of downtown Phoenix taking photos of the constantly changing artwork adorning our streets and buildings. At one point, Troy even compiled a book of work called, “Images of Roosevelt.” That book found a home in our local library. Our cameras got bigger as we began to branch out into larger photographic formats. Curiosity of the chemistry and history of photography inspired an interest in the wet plate process. We developed an enduring respect for the early pioneers of photography and found the work they produced beautiful. We began to research how we could create such incredible images. We gathered all necessary chemicals and equipment, moved into a larger space that could accommodate a studio, and set out to learn the processes of our predecessors. After a lot of trial and error, our images started to reflect our vision. We are still learning, and if all goes according to plan, we will have that privilege for the rest of our lives.
Photo Credit: David Emmit Adams
I grew up on stage. My mother owned a dance studio and had me entertaining an audience as soon as I could walk. I thrived in that creative environment and loved the thrill of performing and making people happy. Later on, in high school and college, I found my place behind the scenes learning the art of stagecraft. Being a part of a crew teaches many useful skills like construction, illusion, and lighting but I think the most important thing I learned was how to work with other creatives. Now, photography allows me to bring all of these elements together and make images that matter.