For several years, I worked as a freelance photographer. Though never full-time, but always in conjunction with my regular duties; first as a Journeyman Offset Photographer for Map Reproduction, U.S. Geological Survey, and later as a Management Analyst, Division of Fishery Research, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, locations are Washington, D.C. and Reston, Virginia.

As a freelancer, I would blend classic elegance with modern urban scenes and trends, covering weddings, fashion shows, newspaper assignments, meetings, special events, and conferences, both local and international.

I was a volunteer photographer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Poor People’s March on Washington, D.C., and I have covered various events sponsored by the Baha’i Faith, both in the United States and foreign countries. Various media outlets have published my work.

Though I no longer work as a photographer, I still love embracing individuality and celebrating diversity in photographic ways to express a unified meaning to life.

Through photography, I seek to encourage young people, stakeholders, and communities worldwide to inspire lifelong learning and creativity through visual representation; to help remove false assumptions, investigate knowledge, and invigorate commitment to viable reforms able to secure societal welfare. By working together, we exemplify a willingness to surpass antiquated thinking, that through the creative arts, to provide opportunities to resolve systemic issues and achieve lifelong progressive outcomes.

Mtazamo Photography

I named my website Mtazamo, a Swahili word for ‘perspective’, because in this age of global transitioning, humankind is being forced by circumstances into a new era, an era filled with unknowns but also with new meanings and understandings. Mtazamo not only denotes perspective but also highlights foresight and attitude, means for acquiring a true understanding of the relative importance of things which are to come. I hope to display this approach through the medium of photography.

At this point in our history, we have now come to realize that materialistic actualization as an approach for humanity’s advancement is a concept plagued with limitations. Operating alone, it has failed because of imbalance, meaning that its unbridled pursuit overpowered the spiritual nature of the human existence, disrupting its ability to achieve long-term viability. Correcting this imbalance will pose a major challenge as we transition to new realities in the coming era.

Photography, as a powerful craft, has a major role to play in this transition. It can portray hope by providing new ideas through visual representation that help bring about new ways of thinking about humanity as a species and encourage a collective endeavour to pursue sustainable objectives. In this way, photography can help lessen the trauma such a forceful change will bring about.

Viewpoint

“Photography has often been described as a ‘journey’, beginning with the first attempts to record your surroundings, and deepening in tandem with your relationship to the world ⎯ and the [camera] lens.”

Narrative

Photography used to portray a narrative is an art form in which the photographer manipulates the reality faced in such a way that the viewer perceives the image to be a story. It’s all about how the photographer tells a story with his camera through a series of events that the photographer has chosen to tell, and by making use of light, shadows, and other elements to help highlight the story being told. A challenging and sincere effort on my part.

Expression

Photography is a pleasurable activity that keeps me absolved in finding the right lighting and composition to create my mind’s inner vision of what it takes to create a spirituality orientated image. This is here I have the freedom of expression, the way, when, and how to execute my vision.