As a recovering alcoholic in early sobriety, I began taking one photograph a day to practice mindful observation. I spent countless hours driving through neighborhoods and exploring unfamiliar areas. Without the numbing effects of alcohol, I observed my surroundings with a heightened awareness and analyzed my emotional temperature. Although intense feelings accompanied my photographic excursions, I practiced acceptance through the process of capturing an image. As Robert Frank stated, “It is always the instantaneous reaction to oneself that produces a photograph.”

In creating a body of work composed of urban landscapes and architecture, primarily houses, I found inspiration in American photographers William Eggleston and Stephen Shore. Through a personal study of the pioneers of color photography, I developed an appreciation for elevating ordinary, everyday objects, such as houses, into symbolic representations of my struggle to find peace and spiritual enlightenment in sobriety. Though my photographs depict banal settings, my intentional point of view and attention to color establish a juxtaposition between willingness and hesitance, hope and disdain. More importantly, with one click I am capturing my inner world.