Like A Fever of Manta Rays Pursued By a Combine Of A Dozen Orca Pods: Collecting Architecture

Oh to be free and not at the mercy of another: That is what Cyrano and Quixote may have bellowed into the winds.

I have landed in most cities with an agenda defined for me: Miami was part of my portrait session with TED Founder Richard Wurman. London was part of my commission to photograph one hundred buildings. Shenzhen was part of a lecture series. Dubai was associated with a lecture series in Bangladesh. Barcelona was a part of a mentor series. The list is lengthy but you get the point.

I pace my entry into countries and cities as if I am among a “Fever of Manta Rays” being chased by a combine of a dozen Orca pods. I may miss some potential gems, but my mind is constantly hosting a gallery of possibilities that my camera must adhere to. Like my equals, the Mantas, I am on the run.

I am an everyday bobbin boy collecting architecture. It can be exhausting, but it is the only way I know how to make sense of what needs to be accomplished. For every building I race to, I return many times during the course of a day of days to make sense of the light, footprints and perspectives. My feet in dozens of languages have asked: “aren’t you tired?”. I try and discover the heart of architectural design and history of most cities. I need to dot all of the “i’s”. I need not forsake the experience and the luxuries of travel. I need to share why I am lucky. To share what I see and feel. That is what my camera can do if I set it free.

Looking For Picasso

Nicholas Grimshaw: Philip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science :: Miami

“Run” says the hunter to the prey! In Miami, south of Collins Avenue I found Grimshaw. Across the globe I found Thom Mayne. Across the globe from him I found Nouvel, Adjaye and almost an inconceivable massive numbers beyond.

I have found masterpieces the way Ray Bradbury discovered Picasso: Bradbury’s short story “In a Season of Calm Weather”: It is essentially about looking for Picasso. My entire career has been looking for that “aha” moment in life and in photography. Decades into my photography career I have met the moment a mere few times.

David Adjaye: Photography Gallery; London

The focus on a considered collection of photographs has enabled me to discover where Picasso will appear in my camera. Yes Picasso is dead, but his greatness is the high bar for the past century.

So obviously whether it may be a person I meet or a descriptive built architectural design, I continue to measure my place in photography based on the Picassos I have encountered.

Greatness is relative. But it is alive in my cities and countries my camera has exposed.

The explanation for the blogs title? I am being chased by forces much greater than the reality of my imagination. All is for naught if I cannot outrun the demons and find what the Gods, Marco Polo, Charles Darwin, and Neil Armstrong saw.