Even before I arrived in Lisboa I set out looking for photographic communities. All of my previous Lisboa experiences were dominated by solo exploration, spending most evenings of my trips hunting for sunsets. Whether down by the river or up high in the miradouros I would see people, together or alone, experiencing the last rays. I enjoyed the communal experience of watching a sunset with strangers. People would even cheer when the sun finally passed below the visible horizon.

Photography itself can often be a lonely experience. Not that there is anything wrong with that. There are times I love to be alone and times I want to go for a photowalk with a few or many friends. It is hard to find perfect moments when surrounded by a group. You stop to take a photo and your subject has noticed you, not because of something you did, but because when you stop to frame a shot, if you take too long, the people in your group notice what you are looking at, and now there are many eyes on your subject. The subject has noticed and the moment has changed.

I am often looking for moments that speak of silence to me. The quiet of the river, of just watching the sunset, and of waiting for something to arrive. These are not the moments I am specifically looking for when I go out, just something I like to take note of during my walks. There is no real current theme to what I am looking for. I am just exploring and taking photographic notes.

During these walks I am exploring my new location and getting a feel for it. I can honestly say I will never consider Lisboa home. Nothing to do with Lisboa itself, but there is no home but where I am originally from. I grew up on an island in Alaska. And while “there is no there there” in the town for me anymore, what home really means to me is the glory and beauty of the wilderness of Alaska.The ocean sprawled out before me with endless islands scattered about. Find me a place that can evoke that calm and comfort within me again and I will figure out how to call that place home.

Lisboa to me is just a wonderful location to be lived in. I want to explore it and enjoy it, but with the awareness that belonging lies elsewhere. I love to go out with my camera and take a hundred shots or one shot. Lisboa has so many nooks and crannies to be explored and sometimes I want to shoot that while other times I just want to experience it.

While I have lived in larger and smaller cities than Lisboa I have never been so interested in photography as I am at this point in my life. When we moved to Lisboa I figured it was the perfect time to do something outside of my wheelhouse and get into some street and urban landscape photography.

Theme

As I mentioned I often find photography to be solitary. Even when shooting with other people it has more of a together but separate feeling to me. There is a loneliness to it that I do not dislike, though I admit I also have enjoyed coming together with groups over our shared love and interest in photography. Coupled with uprooting an entire life, packing it into a few suitcases, and moving to an entirely new country, I found there to be increased loneliness in my life. So, my story in Lisbon is one of both loneliness and connection or loneliness leading to connection. I find that in both my photography and personal life this has been my experience since the move. Admittedly with ever increasing connections.

The images I am looking for in my work currently are mostly people that are alone but don’t look like they’re bothered by it. I find solitary moments to be quite nice in this loud world some days. While I might feel loneliness in my life I don’t hate it. It’s just something I recognize, accept, and find myself working to make connections when I need to. I think in terms of loneliness I’m looking for something more remote or isolated than sadness & depression.

Photos in Reframing Home Exhibition

Images will be revealed on the start of the exhibition!