I'm a freelance photographer based in New York City. My interest in photography began as a child when I used to watch my father develop film photographs in our Queens, New York, basement. A professionally trained photojournalist and self-taught artist, my father frequently used me and my sister as subjects for his camera and taught us art fundamentals from an early age. I created my first shoebox camera in junior high school but never thought that later in life I’d develop a deep desire to document life using photography. Realizing how ephemeral life was, I began taking pictures of everything and everyone in my early twenties, hoping to use photographs not only as evidence and documentation, but also as a way to time travel, so to speak. I started out with a simple point and shoot camera and a lot of ambition. Over the years I've studied at various workshops in the city, and thanks to my passion for reading and books, I’ve studied—and continue to study— the work of many of the great photographers who have pioneered the art form in the hope that I can acquire a deeper understanding of a discipline that goes far deeper than just cameras and lenses. I believe that next to writing, photography is probably the most important human invention.
Photography, to me, is a way to savor life more deeply. We can always look back at photographs and remember moments of our lives, and I think that's something wonderful. Photography also allows us to observe and appreciate things in everyday life that we'd otherwise overlook. I’ve been working as a freelance photographer for almost 20 years now, and every single day I find something new to learn as well as a different way to look at the world around me because of what I have learned from photography.
On this website you will see a small sample of some of the work I have done over the years. I have photographed weddings, all kinds of parties and events, birthday celebrations, and I’ve even photographed funerals at the request of the family of the dearly departed. I hope that as you look at some of the photographs I have shared here, you develop a desire to document and savor life with a camera.
I will leave you with a quote from a great photographer by the name of Elliott Erwitt:
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
That is one of my favorite photography quotes because I believe it encapsulates the true essence of photography. I believe that photographers are artists whose skills of observation have become refined and honed to a razor’s edge because of their craft. The mundane and commonplace become meaningful and interesting under the skilled eye of a photographer. And on a level deeper than just recording information on a sensor, the camera can serve as a mirror through which the photographer can study himself as he decides his compositions. What begins as a photograph of an outward subject actually ends with an image that tells the photographer who he is inside, where he has been, and where he needs to go.
When I'm not taking photographs, I am writing short fiction, studying languages and philosophy, or reading horror novels and short stories. I absolutely adore books, and I consider myself a bibliophile of sorts. I am also obsessed with coffee and tea.
God bless you,
Nigel
Disclaimer: All photographs on this website are taken by me and belong to me. None of my photographs may be used without my express consent. Thank you.