I have always been fascinated by the graphic design-like nature of urban spaces and different ways of looking at them; finding angles, areas, and parts of buildings that are not typically seen, but are sometimes beautiful, mysterious, deep, or gritty. These are the things that make these spaces art.

I have been using these spaces to make my photographs for many years. ‘The Human Presence’ is an extension and expansion of that work, an ongoing project looking at the rich human presence in the urban landscape. It could be the human hand involved in the creation of the space or the human interaction with the space itself, but it’s always there. The focus is on nighttime abstraction which emphasizes color and lines.

Since these are urban spaces, often there are people that pass through and exist there. For the first time in this work, I am asking how this human presence changes both the visual and the perception of the visual. How does having a person in the space change the understanding of what we’re looking at? How does the existence of people in a space affect the sense of scale and how can I manipulate that perception?

Finding these images is sending me out with a tripod, finding my frame, and waiting for something to happen, but ultimately, I’m going to places where things don’t often happen. Old parking garages or a commuter rail underpass draws me because of the architecture or the colors of the lights. I’m pretty impatient, so I find it difficult to wait for the right moment, to not let my mind wander, but when I do, the result is often rewarding.