You may remember a couple of weeks ago I announced that I would be receiving a proof for the book that I wrote. It arrived and I made a lot of really good edits, refining my text and some image adjustments. I’m proud to say that the finished product is available for purchase from my website!

I’d like to share some of the background on how and why I wrote AWAKE. On my personal Facebook page, I began posting nature photographs along with inspirational and philosophical messages. I received a lot of positive feedback from my friends and family, but it was until 2 months ago that I decided to do something with all of that information. When I started my business, I explored ideas on how to share my work other than galleries. That’s when a coffee table book idea began to take shape.

About the same time, I was organizing and reviewing my work. I’ve been taking digital photographs for 10 years now and wanted to show some of my older work because it’s good. The calls I read usually state that work needs to be made within the last 2-3 years. So what was I to do with my archive of work? Hold off until I became famous enough for a formal retrospective? True to my nature, I found a way that I could share all of my work without approval of a call for entry. AWAKE solved the problem because I could share older images, introduce myself as an artist, and incorporate my experience, strength and hope from my Facebook page…all of which exists outside of a gallery. When I do show, I plan to have my book for sale along with the photographs, paintings, or whatever the primary medium may be because I consider the book to be a promotional and marketing compilation.

If you’ve read my blog you’ll see I have 3 major categories: nature, street, and abstract. I believe my best work incorporates more than one of those categories, but people respond to the nature photographs straight-up. AWAKE covers my more accessible art, which I am perfectly okay with. They are indeed beautiful photographs. AWAKE contains a collection of 85 full color photographs! They are sequenced in a lyrical flow designed to awaken your body, mind, and spirit.

I have spent considerable time reflecting on my personal journey, perusing my journal and extracted 69 inspirational, insightful messages to pair with the photographs. They are my intimate thoughts, observations, and reflections on humanity, planet Earth, and spirituality. Combining these thoughts and images, I divided AWAKE into 3 sections: TRUTH, SECRET, and LIFE. TRUTH is a set of observations to help us live more honestly and with greater awareness. SECRET contains ideas that help to unlock the mysteries of life and make sense of our world. And, LIFE is about the marvelous lives we live. Each section also has a short essay to frame the photos and messages.

So, please order AWAKE. I know you will enjoy my book and it will prove to be a great investment for you!