seeking beauty

Moving to the city has presented some real challenges for me. I struggle to fall asleep at night, and the endless barrage of noises tear me out of delicate slumber in the mornings. The perpetual stream of people coming at me from all directions, not to mention the cars that accelerate by, only to come to a screeching halt at the next intersection, demand every ounce of attention my graduate-school-taxed brain can muster. The cacophany of sirens, horns, and alarms jolt my senses with every step I take. My sympathetic nervous system, regulator of "fight or flight," eagerly awaits those moments when I escape the streets of New York and enter the safer havens of the classroom or residence hall.

I hate the city for those reasons and more. And my photography reflects it, as I seek out subjects that remind me of more pastoral settings. Even those images that do not involve trees or flowers strive to eliminate any indication that the bustling city exists outside their frames.



But if I expect to survive in this place, I need to force myself to embrace the city. I need not love it, but I can certainly accept it for what it is. Was it not Aristotle who argued that through practice, one can develop new habits?

And so I have set a new goal for myself: Photograph the city. Actively seek out elements of the urban setting that hold beauty. Through the lens of my camera, perhaps I can begin to see the city with new eyes, in ways that allow me to develop a relationship of harmony with this place.

My first step toward meeting this challenge:


dunce caps