The Road Less Traveled

The road less traveled

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

And that has made all the difference! I started down this road almost two years ago when I committed to pursuing my Identity project. Conformity was something I've always struggled with since my personality is such that I often feel as though I don't fit in, even when invited. This is as much my own doing as it is the clique's I've found so prevalent in both society and creative circles.

The Identity project brought into my life 33 amazing individuals that had a variety of personal reasons of their own to be included in this series. This visual journey was the road less traveled and took me way out of my own personal comfort zone even though the subject matter was one I knew and lived my whole life. So this road of “wanted wear” opened my eyes and my heart to experiences and stories much greater than the photographs they represented.

“Yet knowing how way leads to way”, I doubt I will ever come back. The year Two Thousand Thirteen has brought, once again, personal rewards that are much deeper than the two dimensional photographs created. As a visual storyteller I have realized my greatest gift in creating my photographs is to listen. I listen with my ears, my eyes and my heart and it has transformed the way I make photographs. I shoot less and listen more. I pay attention to the sitters body language to guide my photographic narratives. In the end I want my photographs to speak of beauty, strength and empowerment. I often find that the subjects I resonate with the most also have chosen the road less traveled. I share this years road with many amazing and beautiful individuals. You know who you are and that has made all the difference.