My inspiration for photographs has obvious origins in comic books,  Saturday morning cartoons, and science fiction stories.  But its roots, and its methodology, come from a single source.

When I was a kid, my father brought home sheets of blank typing paper for me and my little brother.  We made paper airplanes,  pirate hats, and we drew.  Drew for hours on any blank surface we could find.  Blank sheets of paper will forever equal heaven to me.

I drew constantly, and draw constantly still.  In my little sketchbook, in the margins of books, on napkins at bars.  There’s always some story waiting to get out.  Some amazing world waiting to be realized.  And all it requires is a scrap of paper,  a little pen, and an imagination.

I turned to photography, to be honest, because my best friends are all accomplished illustrators.  All amazing talents,  all vast imaginations.  Photography was my way of being different.  But still the same.

Even today,  I shoot like an illustrator.  I like to work alone. I tend to work with as few resources as possible (or as many as I can afford, depending on your perspective).  And I like, not to just create pretty images, but to tell stories.

One of my best friends always said ‘you make the best you can with the tools you have.’  As my tools and understanding increase, I hope that it shows through in my workAlso, I’m a Bay Area native, eminently single.

I’m an art director for a national Asian American newspaper, and contributor to several publications.  My claim to fame is Visual Noise.  The things I am most proud of in my life are whatever my latest image turns out to be, and my little brother,  who I would like someday to grow up to be like.

I’m completely humbled by the artists represented in this gallery, and have no idea what I’m doing here.