The work in this series is inspired by the idea of the flâneur, the urban wonderer, observer, and documentarian. This character was first described by authors Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Baudelaire and ruminated on by philosophers like Walter Benjamin. I think of myself as a flâneur, camera in hand, exploring and astutely observing the spaces around me.

I walk the suburban streets of my West Asheville neighborhood, downtown, on vacation at the beach, and wherever, with a present state of mind, letting go, accepting that I have no control over what I may find or experience, and ready for chance encounters. During my walks I seek a connectedness with place and visual interactions that resonate with me in a specific way. This is the moment when I know to stop and make a photograph. Color combinations, the curve of a branch, the fleeting resplendence of natural light, layered geometric shapes of the built environment, the care given to a flower garden. These are elements that go into my images.

This process of flâneurism is about slowing down, freeing my mind, and finding gratitude and inspiration in what I have. The process focuses on discovery and documentation. Each photograph I make is a celebration of the uncelebrated and the unseen.