In 1988 I moved, at the age of twenty-five, from the Los Angeles area where I grew up, to Portland, Oregon. For many years I could only reflect on the topical manifestations of negative energy surrounding all of the concrete and asphalt of Southern California, but at some point after the year 2000, I looked from my Italian Grandfather's perspective, with a deep passion for what had been done in such short order to the human experience in the midst of rampant development and growth. He was born in Los Angeles in 1909, the youngest of nine, when the population of Southern California still lived on the indigenous aquifers, and space was of a different value and meaning. There were 250,000 people in the county.
In Oregon I re-discovered nature and community. The sheer beauty of the native life, the moisture, and the managed and enlightened growth have led to a place that incorporates mother nature, history, and culture with a distinctively defined flavor. Yes, it is different here, but how and why?
In 2002 I had to relocate back to California. I lived, worked, and played in downtown LA, on Wilshire Blvd for six years. To make blanket statements about quality of life, culture, and humanity is a delicate matter, at best it can be reasonable for personal reflection, maybe individual growth, and in some in a some small way make a contribution to personal and communal enlightenment and consciousness, however, to not make the obvious observations that are in plain view is to me somewhat irresponsible for any productive adult in this day and age. We know too much, from our own experience.
My dad was a good Northern Idaho boy that became a Marine for his college education. There was one thing he was adamant about when engaging int the world, that comes to my mind frequently these days, and that is: "If you pack it in, you pack it out. And you leave the areas you've been with as little trace as possible of your visit." My god what a concept, yet where is it manifested in our culture these days? Boy Scouts? Well maybe, but in terms of our total approach to contemporary life. in most modern cities, I would submit that my dad's goal is not only un-embraced, it is antithetical to most people's existence in most cities.
I am an evolutionist, historically and personally. Nature and nurture make up an individual and a culture and there is evolution involoved in both. I am here to do what I can to connect us to ourselves and our sustaining-mother earth. I believe we all go through a personal evolution in life. Ideally, we become more able and wise, and hopefully we don't check out on our unique sensibilities. Mine have lead me to a pretty place in the country, not too far from a large city, in an old country building, with a vision and a plan to make some contribution to the beautiful natural part of every person that is their unique creative self, I believe present in every child. In doing this work I hope to influence healthier modes of life and existence.
I am concerned with those in particular growing up and living in cities far removed from anything natural in their experience of life and environment, that which connects us to common survival experiences over the history of man. Interaction with mother earth.
In attempting to create the first completely solar powered commercial photography studio in the country, in this humble spot in the Pacific NW, I am trying to evoke some thoughtfulness about how we live, and possibly ignite an ever so slight amount of change when it comes to preserving this wonderful orb and the life living on it.
Thanks for reading.
