The Pink Donut comes from my childhood recollection of my father always wanting the pink one. I remember going to the donut shop with him on Saturday mornings as a child, I would be amazed by all the donuts in the case and the freedom to pick the one I like and he would always say “give me the pink one.” I found the feeling of home within these nostalgic moments after returning home from years away and revisiting these places we had frequented all my life. Coming back into the donut shop it was nice to see that nothing had changed, the same booths, same smell and same great taste was still there. In seeking to capture these nostalgic memories of my youth, I made a quick arrangement of the napkin and photographed the Pink Donut within the morning sun as it would have been 10 years prior. Though time has changed for many things, I was happy to build new memories in this place that will always be a part of home.

I’ve been creating in film since my start in photography. I originally started with using disposable cameras that were left over from my family’s events or trips through my childhood and in high school, I received my first experience in the darkroom which sparked my everlasting love of the medium. Using film now, I specifically like the tones of film over digital and the camera I use the film through. My Hasselblad 500c/m has been my main camera for the last 10 years, I have photographed most of my long-term projects with it and it continues to be my favorite camera. Though film is not a perfect medium as prices skyrise and companies cancel many photographer’s favorite stocks, I feel the combination of film and my Hasselblad conveys the way I envision and observe the world around me.

This is home to me. Spending many years creating on the road, these spaces convey the feeling of home more than my hometown does. I feel more at home now on the road and creating along and within the greater American landscape then my specific home in California. On the road, I feel I might be searching for that piece of home that is no longer there, but I feel the road has been the right place for me.

Growing up and leaving my hometown for school, many of my realities changed with coming to make a life in a new place. Creatively, I can reflect on these changes within my work as I transition between projects with every new place I go, meeting new people and making new experiences that have helped evolve my work into what it is today. When developing ideas for these new places, I enjoy looking inward to find inspiration to explore different topics or strive to experience something that soothes my soul. In these moments of reflection, I have found my nostalgia for the past and found my reasons and need to document it. Through many of my series, they have been a way to help me connect and understand the world while trying to not miss out on the things that change in time.

Color has been an interesting aspect to work with again, I have been mainly creating in black and white for the past 5 years and returning to color sporadically through that time has been a relief to think and conceptualize work in a different way. When using color within my work, I feel it utilizes a different part of my brain in understanding. When I switch the film back on my Hasselblad to color, I feel it expresses different ideas within creation for me, these perspectives manifest though more aesthetic based decisions and influence from the history of pop art. Though creation can be daunting at times and many of photo projects take a lot out of me both physically and emotionally, the Pink Donut and many others within its series of color photos bring more freedom to me; I feel free to explore the positive and free to look at the dorky moments outside the serious work.

I’m looking forward to getting back on the road. After a long winter and a broken hand this past month, I’m excited to get back to work on many of my current projects while starting a few new ones. In continuing works, I have a few summer and fall trips planned, one being, heading back to the Bonneville Salt Flats to work on my Lines of Salt series to further document the car culture that comes to inhabit this unique place for a week every year. I look to also re-engaging further with my Route 66 series that I started in 2015, after a hiatus of working with the highway, I have been inspired to take it again and see what I can find at a slower pace. I am also ecstatic to explore new projects along the highways of Wyoming and Nebraska this year. There’s many other smaller trips and ideas I look to follow over this year and I’m excited to see where the road brings me next.

I’m not sure if I have a favorite. I enjoy the act of creating and the ability to work on many projects that fulfill my need to create. I’m always excited to hear what others like in my work and what they find to be their favorite photo. But I feel my favorite thing is working in the field, creating the next photo, having an experience with those around or with me and seeing the photos for the first time as they come off the roll. Maybe in 30 more years, I’ll have a personal favorite photo that attaches to a perfect memory.