Photojournalism nominee

I have been photographing myself living with a chronic illness called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) for which there is no cure for the last 13 years. It follows my progression of being housebound to having to leave my apartment and move in with my parents in order to receive assistance, and then continuing to get worse and becoming completely bedridden, unable to speak at all and needing a feeding tube and PICC line because my stomach became paralyzed.

This project began in 2010 when I was unable to walk enough to photograph at all. I realized that my story was something I would be inspired to photograph and show the world if I was healthy, and that I could photograph myself. So I started making images of myself doing things I did everyday.

Every image is a depiction of something I noticed myself doing or experiencing. I never thought of these images as self portraits. I split my mind into photographer and subject and thought about both separately. I always called them "documentary photographs of myself".

This Series is a small selection of images from 2010-2013, though the project continues to this day.

I have always been passionate about creating beauty. Whether it is photography, music, art, cooking, gardening, or any simple activity or endeavor I can be creative with. Photographing is a reason to explore the world, a reason to meet people I would never otherwise meet, a way of communicating that makes sense to me and comes naturally, and a way of creating objects of beauty that impact and resonate and hopefully change other people and the world at large.

Since 2005 I have been fighting a serious chronic illness called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) which has become so severe that I am now bedridden. But I remain hopeful in a cure someday. In the meantime I try to continue pursuing my passions however and whenever I can.

Selected Awards, Publications and Exhibitions

Photography

Gold Winner, European Photogrphy Awards, 2022
1st Place, Microsoft Pro Photo Competition, 2008

A Smith Gallery, “Portraits”, Book and Exhibition, February, 2023
Front Page, Palo Alto Weekly, January 2009

PH Photography Gallery, Stories Exhibition, May 2021

Film

Gene Expression Using Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 Arrays
-published 2007 to Stanford.edu
-feature length educational video teaching the Gene Expression procedure
developed at the Genome Technology Center