This past semester I have taken the opportunity to examine who I am and what I have become through the lens of a camera - my lens to life. Through the lens of a camera, I have been able to look within at who I am and examine the events of my past that have brought me to my current understanding of life. This understanding is reflected throughout my work as I strive to convey a sense of the emotional experiences and the struggles that are inherent to the person I have become.

For instance, the photographs peering through windows are a reflection of my past, the experiences that have shaped and formed my personality, my fears and my joys of life. The color photos with double images of myself in a Victorian-style house express my desire to have had an older sibling in my childhood; someone who could have guided me and sheltered me in bad times and shared my joys in the good times. My photographic work involving black and white double images of myself identify the different sides of who I am - my personalities, my goals, my desires, all of which provide conflict within myself. As for the color images of myself draped in gauze, it is here that I see myself for who I am and willing to protect from within. I am my own guardian angel.

The visual photographic technique of double imaging is a technique that is an integral aspect of my work. The use of double imaging provides insight to my humanity and inspires me to achieve more, to learn more and to love more. This technique was inspired by several artists, specifically Clarence John Laughlin and Ralph Eugene Meatyard. Laughlin lent me the basics of how to present my work and taught me the use of symbolism in a way that is my own. I was drawn to the mystery of Meatyard's work. He never explained the purpose of his photographs, simply left the audience to interpret their own meaning and draw a conclusion meaningful to themselves. Both artists dealt with issues within their personal lives congruent to the surroundings they kept for most of their existence. These unique qualities of their works have inspired me to create art that is individual in itself and expressive to all who view it.

In my photographic work, it is my vision to show the responses to the events that have occurred within my personal life. Through my persistence and dedication, I will examine and understand both my past and present and record them as though they were my own visual diary. While I have yet to uncover all of my idiosyncrasies and have yet to fully understand myself, my life, I feel that in time I will exhibit and conquer the ghosts of my past and the struggles to come. In the pursuit to photograph my vulnerabilities, it is my mission to fully expose all that has been hidden and locked away.