Yesterday, when I met with the folks of Lakewood's Chamber of Commerce to show them my photographs, John B. Kelsall, the president asked me what type of photograph represents Lakewood. It was a simple of enough question, but his inquiry caught me off guard. This was odd, because to make photographs that represent Lakewood has been my quest from the outset. Yet, his question made me painfully realize that not one of my photographs sums up "Lakewood!" As a body, my work depicts a lot of about Lakewood, but I don't think even if I placed all of my photographs on a wall side by side they would create a mosaic of what Lakewood is. That has been the challenge when making, selecting, and writing about my photographs. And it's not static, the more I photograph the more I continue to learn about Lakewood. Yesterday, I was trolling the streets north of South Street and east of Woodruff Avenue where I found the feel and architecture of the homes to be completely different to that of where I live in the western half of Lakewood. It felt like I was in Orange County.
I suppose my point is this, and the reason why "Lakewood" as a project is challenging. There is a certain feel to Lakewood, and as John B. Kelsall noted, "you know when you are in Lakewood." To capture that in 20 provocative photographs is my mission and something I am close to, but have to date not completed.
