I attended the photo la opening gala last night and was inspired by the amazing works on display. Seeing my image "The Gift" printed and hanging on the wall with all the other Emerging Focus finalists was very satisfying. The quality of the work and the prints is exceptional and I look forward to the event tonight when the judges announce the three winning prints.

Tomorrow will be a very exciting day as I will present images from my series "Drive-By Shooting" at the Open Show event starting at 5:30pm. This collection of images is both a diary of my experiences traveling the world as well as a record of daily life and one's relationship to others and their environment. I believe each image tells a story that is both influenced by what is visible in the frame as well as the viewers' own personal experiences, emotions, and expectations of what one does and feels throughout their daily life. The majority of the images were captured from a moving vehicle as we traveled between locations for a documentary I was filming. There was little to no interaction with the subjects throughout the series yet at times they appear to stare directly down the lens of the camera as if posing for the shot. This connection formed in a fleeting moment draws me into these images and allows my mind to construct the story that was unfolding at that moment.

Please stop by the Emerging Focus section of photo la this weekend so I can share with you my experiences during the making of this series. And good luck to all 20 finalists in this year's contest!

Drive-By Shooting #0120 / Himachal Pradesh, India