Photographing in the former Soviet Union is a magical experience.  I feel like I’m returning to the place of childhood dreams and fairy tales.  This time, I’m no longer just a participant, I’m the one recording the stories.  Often the stories are dark and filled with hardships, but my subjects are people who are filled with hope and carry their burden with dignity.  I fall in love with each face I photograph, lingering on the untimely wrinkles, on the kindness in their eyes and the incredible stoicism that shines through every pore.  I come away feeling a better person, with a new understanding of the world.  

I approach my work as both an artist and a documentarian, recording small details of everyday life that change and disappear with the advent of globalization.  The disappearing world of the 20th century is still intact in much of the former Soviet bloc and my journeys often feel like travel in time to a seemingly simpler world.  My work as a photographer is to give each detail life, bringing a three-dimensional view of my subject through a two-dimensional media.  I present my photographs to the viewer with a hope for understanding of and empathy for a beautiful and dignified people.