Artisan's Statement

     I'm a self-taught photographer who for the last eight years has had the privilege of rediscovering the world through the lens of a camera. What a gift! I started out doing street photography, and once I developed a little bit of confidence I began pursuing photography in every form.

     A quick look through my gallery will probably reveal that I'm all over the photographic map: I'm as likely to be tucked into the corner of a busy hotel lobby as I am a windy, inhospitable beach after dark if I think I'll get a once-in-a-lifetime picture, one that you might like to hang on your office or living room wall. I rarely shoot street photography much any more, but I hope you sense the liveliness of street photography in my work - even in my quieter images I'm interested in motion/movement and a sense of the unexpected.

     No matter what your profession, busy sidewalks and crowded beaches are the cost of doing business in southern California, especially during the summer months. In my busier images I try to isolate my subjects, be it a surfer on a crowded set or an impromptu chess match on a bustling sidewalk, in order to illuminate a moment in time that, once passed, is gone forever. It often requires a combination of right lens/right time, ideal vantage point, patience, and a little bit of luck.

     Finally, in most of my images I'm trying to render water in an interesting and unique way. There are so many different kinds of water. Within 2 miles of my house is the Pacific Ocean, the San Diego Bay, and the Tijuana Sloughs, and each of these bodies of water behaves differently depending on the time of day, the type of moon, and the weather, among other things. As a result, I'm usually trying to reconcile my ability and artistic bent with whatever Mother Nature throws at me.  As you look through my work, I hope you notice the various ways I've captured the rolling, roiling ocean. The ocean is always a little different every time I return to it, and I try to render that variation in my camera.

     Photography anywhere - but especially in and around San Diego - is a challenging and sometimes maddening pursuit, and I'm incredibly grateful to have the opportunity. Please enjoy the galleries. If you have any questions or if you're interested in purchasing one or more of my images, please contact me at wewwew90@gmail.com or 619.496.8231. I hope you enjoy looking at my images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

-William Edwin Willis