A decade of looking closely

 —now from the Northwest

For the better part of a decade, I photographed weddings across South Africa — coastal ceremonies in the Cape, farm celebrations in the winelands, city halls and old landmark buildings whose stonework I came to know as well as the couples standing in front of them. Architecture taught me patience and geometry. Weddings taught me to stop arranging people and start watching them.

That way of working travelled with me when my family relocated to Washington. The light is different here — softer, greyer, more forgiving — and the landscape asks for a quieter picture. I photograph a wedding day the way a documentary is made: few instructions, long stretches of watching, and an eye for the frame that will still hold meaning in thirty years.

You will not find me choreographing a hand-hold or calling for a jump shot. You will find me a few steps back, close enough to catch what your grandmother says in your ear, far enough that you forget I am there at all.