11/01/2026
A photographers manifesto
As I sit here in the shadow of Shwedagon Pagoda-one of the most sacred in Myanmar, jet lagged and hungry at 3am, I am thinking about what I want this “new stage” of my life and career to be.
“Do you sell prints?” -no
“You should teach!” -maybe
“Why don’t you post more?” -because…humans
“People should really see what you do, because it’s incredible!” -meh
All actual things said to me, with my short, curmudgeon feelings on them. All future topics that will pop up.
Being a work in progress, and exhaustion coming back, I will just try to iterate why I want to “engage more” with the world, rather than retreat from it, which seems apropos in today’s current climate.
In no particular order, and to be much updated in the future:
-future PhD idea refinement
-engagement online, in photography, and with life
-fully catalogue my life’s work (40k images in digital, hopefully not too much film)
-eat more fiber (aka take better care of yourself)
I’ll leave you with a quote from Martin Parr, who we lost in 2025. His death hit me harder than most others, because he was one of the photographers I grew up with, learned from, admired, and hoped to meet eventually.
“We live in a difficult but inspiring world, and there is so much out there that I want to record.”
Me too Martin, me too…
Back to bed, gotta got date with the sunrise :)
