Magic Hour

There's something beautiful in the swaying of the train cars.

The setting sun of the passing day 

a mere blur in the background that makes me stop for a moment and wonder.

how one day, 

one swaying moment,

can change your life in an instant. That the setting sun of tomorrow,

the sway of the cars that mean

so little,

and yet so much,

in hindsight of the bigger picture, 

that life is about living,

loving, 

forgiving,

and forgetting,

that with every pass between cars,

every set of the sun,

Our lives are defined.

TDKR and Film

  There is something truly remarkable about film, and the beauty it pocesses. I speak not of a general film title, but the good old fashion, celluloid film. As the industry is continuing to develop, the fight for film is becoming more and more crucial. Perhaps the most beautiful and resonating images seen in the theatre are that belonging to film, the Dark Knight Trilogy not only showcased that, but defined it, and none the less has given film a nod it deserves in such a trying time where people need to be reminded of where film began, and the reason to which it has remained to this day the best image possible on screen. 

  As a student of Cinematography and film, in an industry threatening to change from film, I am an advocate for film and will forever be until the day the digital world can truly capture the resolution and high quality images that is the film we know and love now. We go to the cinema for an experience, to be brought into a world and a story away from ours. IMAX or 70mm Film is the best the world has ever seen and just look at the difference it made in the beautiful shots of The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, it takes a passionate and dedicated team to shoot in this format, for many reasons, but I cannot imagine a Dark Knight without those big, crystal clear beautiful images.

  The Dark Knight trilogy follows the story of the hero not that Gotham needs, but that it deserves. Perhaps a bigger picture in the completion of the trilogy is, The Dark Knight trilogy was not the specific film the world needed, but the one it deserved; the one that could help change the fate of the slowly dying world of film, to shed light again on the true beauty in what has begun to fade.

   Watching these films, is to sincerely view a slice of history, a treasure never forgotten, to look at as reminder of what film is, has, and will do for the future generations of filmmakers; The Dark Knight of time.

Artist Statement

Searching for the beauty in the ordinary is what I spend my life doing, for so many people fail to realize that sometimes the most beautiful things are indeed what most may deem ordinary. Life is about experiences, what we make of them and how we react to them. Every person, being, creature, on this planet goes through things and everyone and everything has their own story, all told from a very different and yet similar perspective. Having the ability to slip into the shoes of not only a character in the world around us but the shoes of the world in which we live is something I strive for.   

I never wanted to directly share my thoughts and emotions with people so I showed them visually. I think that is why humanity created film, art, music, and literature; to tell the stories nobody had the courage to tell themselves and that is what I love about filmmaking. Taking a story, a moment, a life and bringing it into reality; into the world of the audience in a way that is simply real. Raw emotion through visuals, submerging the viewers into someone else’s shoes, immersing them in a journey. 

Cinematography isn’t always about a beautiful vista but about the raw reality of the story being told and believe me, it’s not always pretty. The way I see it, I live life through the lens, watching for moments and what makes those moments resonate, for it’s not just a great plot that tells a story, but the visuals that bring that story to life. I am an observer, a participant in not only my own journey, but that of the world and those around me. I read in pictures, see in pictures, live in pictures I always have and always will; I think its not only important to be interested in films, but interested in life. In order to evoke an emotion to an audience in a realistic form, I believe you must experience it first hand. The pictures on screen have to be true to the narrative and the best way to accomplish that, is by simply living; becoming the observer, the viewer in the bigger picture in order to better understand the snapshots.