While getting paid to be a photographer is certainly one measure of accomplishment, in my experience, the ultimate challenge for a photographer is the personal project. To appreciate this, remember how the first step for many serious photographers was to develop the skills to successfully photograph/capture any kind of subject. The next step for some was to go pro and get paid for doing photography.

Making a set of images which tell a story from your point of view, under your own direction (rather than to just satisfy a paying client) is a process that is even more challenging and at the same time, more rewarding than just getting paid for pictures. With that in mind, I’m sharing a portfolio of my current personal project, called Foreclosed Dreams. I photograph inside foreclosed houses right after the actual foreclosure and before they are cleaned up to be put back on the market. That’s when I can photograph the “ghosts” of the families that used to be in those houses.

To date, I have photographed in twelve states with my goal being to photograph in at least thirty states to highlight the nationwide scope of the issue.