For me, losing my great mentor and dear friend, Jean-Jacques Naudet, is the deepest sorrow I have ever known. I only just received this devastating news—having discovered it when I saw my portfolio featured in "The Eye of Photography", yet noticed that Jean-Jacques Naudet’s contact email was missing. At this moment, I am left speechless. The entire world has lost a true titan of the photographic realm. It was he who, just ten years ago, encouraged me to launch my own personal website; and as recently as last October, I had written to him.
I simply wish to express my sincere gratitude to you for the assistance you have provided over the past decade—guidance that has charted a clear course for my street photography. It was you who set me on the right path and suggested that I establish my own website; today, I deeply realize just how pivotal that step has been for my career in street photography. You are the wind beneath my wings; it is precisely because of your support that I have been able to take flight.
I have found that the photographic styles of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau resonate perfectly with my own nature. I intend to follow in their footsteps, engaging in pure street photography to capture those fleeting moments—without staging, retouching, or the use of AI.
Many of my friends have encouraged me to travel across the country for my photography—to see more places, meet different people, and photograph America beyond Chicago. I understand the appeal. But I have chosen to stay.
There is something about Chicago that keeps me here. To me, Chicago is a melting pot, a miniature America. Its neighborhoods bring together people from different cultures, backgrounds, histories, and walks of life. Here, I see the diversity of America, but also its shared values, struggles, dreams, and contradictions.
Sarah Bernhardt once said, “I adore Chicago. It is the pulse of America.” I have always loved that sentence because it expresses what I feel when I walk through the city with my camera. Chicago feels alive. Its streets are constantly moving, changing, colliding, and revealing something unexpected.
For me, street photography is not simply about finding beautiful places. It is about witnessing life as it happens—people, gestures, chance encounters, neighborhoods, light, architecture, and all the small moments that might otherwise disappear. Chicago gives me an endless supply of those moments.
I don't feel that I need to cross the country to find America. I can find America right here: on the streets of Chicago, in its people, and in the countless stories unfolding every day.
I adore Chicago, too. It is the pulse of America. And for my photography, it is enough.