Hello, and welcome! 

I'm Angel. A Brooklyn born, Jersey City raised, photographer currently residing in the Hudson Valley, New York. 

My interest in making photographs began with learning film photography and development in high school. There I attended various art classes including drawing and painting, sculpture, woodworking, advertising design, and photography. Of those art mediums, I gravitated most to photography.

My innate inclination toward framing, composition, balance and harmony led the way as anything and everything were potential subjects in those early years. Often even the most mundane, and boring subjects fell into the crosshairs of my lens. As a result, I made mistakes, took bad shots, and when online platforms emerged, I shared photos that were less than my best whether in the taking, editing, or both. In the end, though, I believe my failures are more meaningful to my photographic journey than my successes and I learned a lot from them.

To that point I’ll paraphrase a favorite quote by one of my artistic idols, Mr. Woody Allen.

“The joy is in the making, the doing. Have an idea and try your best to execute it. If you achieve what you set out to, great! If not, learn what you can, which is often nothing in an art form, and try harder next time.” So it has been for me, and so it remains today.

Following high school there were some years in which finding my way in this world took priority. I didn’t shoot at all. I didn’t even own a camera during that time.

I rediscovered my desire to take photographs with a girlfriend's digital point and shoot Olympus camera in the early 2000s. That shutter button and my right pointer finger became best friends but at that time I didn’t give photography serious thought. I got positive feedback on some of the photos I captured during that time which was mostly landscapes and nature scenes. That feedback encouraged me to think more deeply about why I enjoyed taking photos so much. My conclusion? Combinations of connection, self expression, artistic exploration and plain ‘ol fun. I haven’t always succeeded in capturing those motivations and ideas photographically, but I know that’s what drives me to press the shutter each and every time.

On Christmas 2013, I got my first DSLR camera, a Nikon D5200 with an 18-55mm kit lens. A sense of excitement reignited in me at the prospect of learning more about making great photographs. I focused on knocking the rust off the basic technical aspects of photography. I shot a ton over the following years. I also read up on famous photographers, their styles, techniques and about how they got their respective starts. Some of my favorites among them being Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Helmut Newton, and David LaChapelle to name but a few.

Along the way I picked up some of the requisite gear such as modifiers, speed lights, a monolight, stands and backdrops, and I played. One light, two light, three light, blue light! I began experimenting with constant lighting, and on and off camera flash. I tried studio style shoots as well as “location” style, outdoor flash photography. I looked forward to shoots and nothing motivated me more than utilizing what I was learning to achieve the results I was going for. Those, and more recent results continue to inspire me to “keep going”. Photography is always on my mind and I think about one aspect of it or another many times a day.

Given the inherent constraints of having a family, and a full time, non-photography nine-to-five, I don't have as much opportunity to focus on photography as I’d like. Nonetheless, I shoot every chance I do get, and I rarely leave the house without my camera. I think it's important to constantly be racking up the reps, improving, learning, and simply having fun.

As I continue to shoot, develop and refine my photography skills, I will update the content of this site to reflect a more focused genre, and style of photography.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a meaningful day. Come back soon!