Energy.

I try to abide by the Holy Bartenders’ Bible: no religion, politics or… there’s something else. Well, whatever it is, I avoid that too.

But, let me share a little bit of my “religion”. And if you don’t want to hear about it, then don’t read.

My religion is ENERGY.  Not Red Bull energy. Not marathon energy. Not that rush you get after you work out. No. It’s emotion. It’s my religion, my reason and my fuel. It is the foundation of my photography. All of my photographs are meant to inspire an emotion.

But beyond that, energy is one of the most powerful forces I have ever encountered. It can ruin something or make something. And it never ceases to amaze me.

Despite emotion being the driving force behind my photographs, I find continually that energy is also the driving force behind my photography.

If I stress myself out, show up late or vibe the wrong attitude, the people will reflect it and the photographs will also.

Today people were difficult. They were dismissive, rude and uncooperative. I can’t tell if it was the crowd, the event or what other factor might be at work… but I can tell you that I was worried I was late. I can tell you that my legs hurt. I can tell you that I was cold. I can tell you that I was nervous.

And later that night, a guy blatantly said I had made his girlfriend look unattractive in a photo I took weeks and weeks ago.

That is what I am talking about. If the nights starts off on the wrong foot, if it shifts in a slightly noticeable way, it will affect the rest of the evening.

That is why, above all else, I believe in energy. That is why above all else, energy fuels my daily life. What am I feeling? What am I emitting? What am getting in response? What is showing? What is being hidden?

Yes, energy is something I am in complete awe of. And what’s more, I feel bad for anyone that doesn’t believe in it.

I don’t talk about this often. I don’t like to expose my beliefs for fear of appearing flighty and somewhat nutso. But energy is such an undeniable force that right now I feel compelled to write about it.

Listen to yourself. Listen to your heart. Listen to your emotions. Listen. LISTEN!

People tell me, incessantly, that I “over-think”. I’m not saying they are wrong. But, I will argue, until my last breathe, that I listen to myself, and the times I don’t, I regret it.

When you look at photographs, and if not at photographs, then when you look at MY photographs, please do so with feeling. Do so with your energy. That is how they were made and that is how they should be responded to.