Each of these images is a small meditation. The objects depicted might not be thought to be worth a second look, but looked at closely they can be quite beautiful. The small size of the prints requires the viewer to look closely.
After a year away, I returned to the urban Northeast, where I grew up and have lived most of my life. During the pandemic, I began focusing on things in my much smaller world. I was struck by the details of and textures of the objects around me. All of these images focus on an object or small group of objects closely—things that resonate with the gritty, but vital and beautiful qualities of my intensely urban environment.
Each photograph was shot with a restored vintage Polaroid SX-70 camera (the company’s 1970s flagship single lens reflex camera) using relatively long exposures and available light. In a sense, this technique is the opposite of what the Polaroid camera was created for—quick snapshots. The prints are far from perfect. They are subject to the vagaries of the complex Polaroid instant exposure and development process—and thus reveal their imperfect analog nature very clearly. They are also unique physical objects. So, these pictures themselves have many of the same qualities as the objects they depict.
exit sign in building hallway
vine on the wall on Pleasant Street
pip in building laundry room
red thing on Chandler Street
old firehouse door on Woodland Street
bird's nest on Hackfeld Road
hook in building laundry room
fire hydrant in front of building
brick by building's side door
lion statue on Park Avenue
cone at restaurant on Chandler Street
cornerstone behind building on Main Street
old fire alarm in building hallway
parking lot mosaic on Pleasant Street
cupola behind store on Chandler Street
maple leaves on fence in building parking lot
barber pole on Chandler Street
arrow in parking lot on Main Street
fire hydrant on the corner of Abbott Street and Chandler Street
