I'll be honest — I have a complicated history with social media. I was one of the earliest joiners of Facebook back when I was at the University of Miami back in 2005, when it was still only for students and felt like you were in on something special. I loved it for what it was supposed to be: staying in touch with people I care about, the occasional laugh, the inevitable cute dog video. But somewhere along the way it started to feel like a lot of performance and not a lot of actual connection. Scrolling through highlight reels of everyone's best moments started to feel less like keeping in touch and more like watching a very curated show about people I used to know.
When I left for Europe last June, I made a quiet decision not to really post about it. I wanted to actually be there — taking in the moment, not composing captions in my head while standing in front of something beautiful. So instead of posting, I tried to stay present. Then later, when the day had settled, I'd occasionally share a photo or a moment via text with the specific people I thought would appreciate it. It felt more like writing letters than broadcasting, and honestly — it felt more like friendship.
Then came Plum Village.
Two weeks at a meditation retreat at a Buddhist monastery in the south of France. Phone off. What surprised me most wasn't the silence or the stillness — it was how much time I suddenly had. Time to read. Time to walk slowly and actually look at things. Time to have unhurried conversations with strangers who became, by the end, genuinely meaningful to me and to one another. I came out of those two weeks feeling like I'd been handed something back that I hadn't realized I'd given away.
I know it's a little ironic — a photographer who isn't on Instagram. Believe me, I'm aware. And I'm not here to tell anyone else what to do with their phone. I just think social media has a way of replacing the feeling of connection without delivering the actual thing — and I didn't want to keep contributing to that cycle.
Given that genuine human connection is more or less the entire point of my work — helping people feel seen, comfortable, and like themselves in front of a camera — it started to feel a little counterproductive to spend my off-hours in a place that mostly makes people feel the opposite.
So I'm off it. And in addition to in person, face-to-face connection, I’m going to try this blog as a new place to show up now. Less often, more intentionally, and hopefully with something worth saying.