First of all, let me begin by thanking you for embarking on this new chapter of my life with me. I first launched my own website many years ago, within which I tossed as many images as possible. Galleries so extensive they took forever to load. With me still experiencing the euphoria of seeing many birds for the very first time, riding on the waves of encouraging comments - I figured that my galleries should truly be bursting at the seams.
Now, following my path of personal growth, allowing the process itself to lead me instead of me self-importantly assuming the role of leader has resulted in a vastly different outlook now from what existed many years ago at the inception of my own website.
This path I speak of has fertilized the soil of spirituality and connectivity in the very essence of my being. I promise to expound on this at some point in the future. Although I never stopped writing articles, I grew apart from the administration aspect of this website and it became overgrown with over a hundred thousand comments (all spam), and ultimately it was hacked, rendering me unable to post anything.
A crucial intervention was then made by a person pivotal in my life for a cornucopia of reasons: all that I have ever produced, whether notecards, prints, calendars and even the book I released last year has passed under her eyes and through her hands. She created and administered my first official page pre-website. Any photographic submissions are curated by her. She proofreads my articles and helps me conceptualize tour itineraries. She has been instrumental in my understanding of composition and my appreciation of light. I even got married to her a few years ago. And now, thanks to her consistent work over the past few weeks - I have this brand new website to share with you all.
So welcome, friends; and allow me to show you around.
The home page's landing image may seem like a strange choice - none of those birds are particularly rare or difficult to see - but it, like much of my work now, is less about the subject. Emphasis is more on the entire frame and its enclosed, encoded message. The numbers of birds, the number of species, how many are facing the photographer - much of these minor details are mathematically significant and perhaps deserving of another post altogether. Anyway, aesthetically speaking it also allowed for much clean and open space while still maintaining a reasonable level of dynamism.
Galleries are separated into four loose categories. Again, within photography there is a balance which needs to be struck between subject and setting. For nature photography, this setting is habitat - which I'm sure you are aware is currently under great threat. Without the setting, it'll be impossible to have a subject. With this choice, I intend to draw some further importance to where these creatures are found, and the associated need to preserve these places.
Of course, the lines are often blurry. Animals are free to travel, and a mangrove forest is a forest within a wetland. The galleries are arranged in a specific order, following the natural path of that life-giving element - water. Galleries are opened by a single click on a web browser, but if you're viewing it on a mobile device you may need to tap twice on the gallery tile. Once open, each image can be viewed larger by clicking on it. You'd then be able to read a few words I included with the image. I encourage you to view the images full screen. Many of the images included here are gems I have never previously shared on any platform. You are among the first to see this work, and for that I am grateful.
For this blog, you may need to sign in to leave a comment - this is a preemptive step to limit the possibility of the site being inundated with spam, also you'd be notified of future posts. So that'll help to encourage me to write more on this platform.
We have also included a page where you can support me by purchasing my book or any product from my online store. Regarding the latter, if there's any of my work you'd like to see there, do reach out and let me know and once it is possible (once I have the high-res file) I'll be happy to include it in the store.
There's also an about me section in the event you'd like to learn more about why I do what I do.
Finally, there's a contact page with links to my social media pages if you'd like to keep up with me there, as well as a form which can be used to contact me directly.
Navigation should be relatively straightforward; we may be making a few changes here and there as this unfolds. I invite you to explore this website and please let us know if anything looks odd to you on your end, or if any process is difficult for any reason, or if it all resonates with you in some way. It's been a long journey to get here and I can't wait to hear what you think of it!
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