Getting to know the regulars at the Ramona Flea Market Karaoke Beer Garden has been an incredibly rewarding experience over the years. When Lisa and Mark asked me to photograph their wedding which took place right there, I realized what a gift they gave me, the opportunity to convey all the love and warmth they have for each other.
Here's a collection of photographs from the photographer's 60th birthday trip to Europe. The familiar sites that tourists visit are all missing from this issue of American Pie, however. Instead, you will find amazing architecture you haven't seen before, bathed in the particular light of the region. Dreamlike and painterly, these images resonate with the tranquility and acceptance the photographer seems to have found in his life.
A neighbor I did not know left a note on our porch. In fact, he placed one on every porch within a few blocks of his house. In it, he describes the pain he feels, having just lost his wife of only a few months. He discusses running marathons, past business success and future business glory all while bidding farewell to 9th St in Jacksonville, FL. His thorough mix of despair and optimism intrigued me and prompted me to find him. In this issue, I annotate his struggle using mirrored photographs to try to bring about self examination and empathy from myself and my viewers.