Ruby, from our first shoot together.
I didn’t know they were watching.
Local photographers had been following my work. When they reached out to say they loved it and wanted me in their show, I had never been approached like that before.
My first gallery exhibition was ORFUN Magazine’s Creative Collision at Groom Haus in Pompano Beach on December 13, 2025. It wasn’t a competition. Being invited was enough.
The portraits began with very little preparation. It was my first shoot with Ruby. I chose the location for its aesthetic. She chose the wardrobe. Neither of us arrived expecting to make something for a gallery.
Concrete pillars. Shallow water. Red against cyan. Her black wardrobe moving through all that hard architecture. The photographs came from paying attention to what was in front of us.
Then I saw them printed.
The portraits on the wall at ORFUN Magazine’s Creative Collision exhibition.
Until that show, I had never seen my own photographs on paper. Donations helped me access the paper and printing quality the work deserved. I’m grateful to the people who made that possible, and to the photographers who made room for me.
A photograph on a wall asks for a different kind of attention. You can walk toward it. Step back. Live with it. It stays when the phone goes away.
Clients are beginning to ask about prints, too. A portrait for your home. Work your fans can hold onto. Something that gets to exist beyond a social media post.
You can’t always predict which shoot will give you your strongest photographs. You can choose a place, bring yourself, and stay ready.
Sometimes that’s where the work begins.
