My photographs are simply about people: their passions, their struggles, and their lives. “I am interested in gathering the truth of events, the behind the scenes stories, rather than the mainstream headline news.” The positive aspect of this work is the challenge to connect with the subject and the ability to tell the story through an image. When the connection occurs I feel that the image can humanize the subject or situation, and generate a better understanding with the viewer, the community and society.

I do this by not just being a passive observer and outsider to an event, but instead working as an active and engaged participant in the lives and events I record. It is important to gain trust with the subject and environment in order to capture real rather than posed expressions or actions. I like using natural light while taking images because the shadows can be soft compared to artificial light, which can make the image somewhat harsh. I shoot raw, when developing I create a border around the image to show that the image has not been cropped or altered. The border is my signature and it provides a feeling of accomplishment to my personal challenges, which is, to take an excellent image without the need to crop or alter.

I am the founder and director of the Crossing Borders Project, an internationally traveling exhibition of image and text recorded by and about the lives and struggles of the people of Palestine and other underrepresented groups. This is an ongoing project that I hope will continue to grow in participation from all different walks of life. The project is workshop based, teaching and providing the necessary tools for the participant to expresses their voice to others through the image.
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