I was born in Boston, Massachusetts in February of 1982. Two months later after a lot of back-and-forth between my parents and doctors I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF). Back then we didn’t have the wealth of information we have now when it comes to CF, its treatments and prognosis. It was very much still known as a “pediatric disease” simply because CF’ers were not living long enough. At the time of my diagnosis the median survival age for people with CF was 12 years. My parents told me that doctors told them I would most likely not live past middle school. As one can imagine this was hard news for any parent to hear. My parents nor anyone in my extended family had ever heard of such a disease. They were not alone. Many people back then never did. Despite my mother’s learning disability and the occasional disrespect she felt from the medical community she faced my care head on. Some of my earliest memories involve me, my CF and the care my mother provided. I didn’t know it then but my Ma was teaching me what could be done with a healthy dose of spite. I was an active child even when I was sick. It’s important to note that “CF sick” is not anything like what a healthy able-bodied person experiences when sick. I’m sure it must have been difficult at first but I was just like any other kid in the neighborhood. My love for sports started so young that I cannot remember when it even started. Baseball and the Red Sox were an integral part of our household. Like any kid in Boston I dreamed of one day playing for the Sox. During my summers my friends and I would play sports almost all day. Or tag or some alternate version of it. Of course there was the troublemaking. I had to be involved in all of it 🤣

In high school I ran track and cross country. My determination was fueled by proving “experts” wrong. My attitude was (and in many ways still is) “Fuck you, watch me!” I didn’t just run track. I was captain of the team. Looking back it’s easy for me to see that I was downright determined to outrun the impossible. I continued to run for as long as my body would let me after I graduated high school. My high school was a vocational school. There I studied carpentry with hopes of working in the trades post high school. It’s still bittersweet to me that I was able to work in the trades post high school. But not for as long as I hoped while at the same time knowing I wasn’t supposed to make it this far.

My love for photography started in elementary school getting lost in the pictures of my books. I probably studied those more than anything else. I didn’t know what sonder was then (noun. son-der: the realization and understanding that all other people have lives as complex as one's own) but that was and still is what I experience when looking at photos. Be it the fashion choices of the day, the architecture of the time and even things like store signage and advertisements I found so interesting. When looking at other photographers work in the present I still experience that feeling of sonder. Especially if it’s in a location I’ve never been and most likely never will. So it felt natural for me to want to take control over the family’s different film cameras over the years. Like the time I got to do a Make-A-Wish when I was about 10 years old My original wish was to meet “The Terminator” himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. That never materialized due to scheduling. I did get a personalized autographed photo from him and the chance to make another wish. This time things worked out and my family and I headed off to California to visit Disneyland, Universal Studios and Knottsberry Farm. My dad bought a new Canon camera specifically for that trip. I couldn’t wait to take control of it. That was in 1992. It is still in my possession today as well as a few other cameras from my youth.

After high school between trying to stay working in the trades and maintaining my health my hands held a camera less and less. I did buy a Fujifilm digicam to take photos of nights out with friends before cell phones could take pictures. But I wasn’t exploring as much photography outside of that. It wasn’t until 2012 until I rediscovered my love for photography. By then my health was failing. My lung function had dropped so much that my pulmonologist referred me to transplant clinic. Roughly 18 years after what my first life expectancy was I was now facing the possibility of needing a double lung transplant. I had to quit my job at a sports bar across the street from Fenway Park to face this challenge. I’ve always been someone who loves to go for walks. This is when I started taking more and more photos with my smartphone while on my walks. I would download just about any editing app at the time to learn different editing styles and techniques. I needed something else to occupy my brain since I could no longer physically work. My first interchangeable lens camera was a tiny Samsung mirrorless camera. I consumed a lot of photography content on sites like Instagram and Youtube. And I googled A LOT. This was probably the most studious I had ever been 🤷🏻‍♂️ I am not kidding you when I tell you I would spend hours in Dunks (Dunkin’ Donuts) or the library reading, watching and taking notes. I didn’t end up needing that double lung transplant. Enrolling in a clinical trial ended up saving my life. I still have my original stock parts 🫁 and still experience sonder when I am consuming photography or out and about with my camera. I will still read and watch photography related tutorials especially if it’s from a photographer that I have never come across before. I’m curious by nature and refuse to let my ego get in the way from learning something new from someone new. Perhaps experiencing sonder so intently has shown me the importance of seeing things from other people’s perspective.

Embrace imperfection to find what’s real.

Take the photo