The traveling carnival - part of American summertime culture since who knows when. The word "carnival" induces images of funnel cake, ferris wheels, and holding hands with your honey. However this photographer has captured a message we should all consider: summer danger. It lurks where we don't necessarily expect it. Sure, at first glance we notice the flamboyant colors and tall tempting rides. But our eyes immediately rise to the sinister clouds settling in above, pointing to the horror that lies within - 1,000 calorie curly fries, unregulated Tilt-A-Whirls, rigged games, chipping paint, bearded women. It's a lurid world that will suck you in and spit you out with heartburn, a broken arm, and heat exhaustion. All I can say is, enter at your own risk kids.

We are in the midst of summer, yet the relaxing days of sipping iced refreshments on a sunny porch as promised by lemonade commercials are a long way off. Why? Because we are blocked. Blocked from private beaches for being too poor, blocked from wearing a bathing suit out in public due to your obesity, or blocked from strolling along the beach for bringing your dog when they aren't allowed (such a fascist rule). This photo illustrates these blocks by displaying only a small view of a sunny paradise, with a wall blocking you from basking in the beach's sun. You can see the beach, hear the beach, but you are blocked from the beach. I especially appreciate that the photographer deliberately kept the fence out of focus, because sometimes it's hard to see what's standing in our way. The summer sunshine is out there, but unfortunately so is the sunblock.

It is our country's birthday month, which usually conjures up images of broad stripes and gallant ramparts. Yet after a chaotic year of events including the financial crisis, the sickening BP oil spill, and the disgrace of Tiger Woods, America's red white and blue has been given a black eye. This photograph exemplifies the murky phase that the U.S. is currently undergoing. The flag is not valiantly undulating in the breeze; it's not even a real flag. It's some sort of trashy synthetic material, placed askance in the window in front of some severely outdated blinds. The apartment building itself is sad and ominous with no sign of July jubilation to be seen. There are even bars covering the windows, completely contradicting any notion of freedom. The upside to this newfound American modesty - we may finally be more liked by France.

Funny how the KEEP OUT warning only makes you want to open the door and go inside. Forbidden fruit always looks sweeter. The photographer, myself, obeys the rule of thirds by keeping the door off center. Shot from eye level, this photo makes you feel as though you're in the hall, right outside this door. If I told you that behind that door there's merely a young man's well-decorated bedroom, would you be less enticed to open it and see what's inside? No, you wouldn't. Neither is my mom, that's why I'm getting a deadbolt.

The white picket fence, a prominent suburban cliché. It's the symbol of a wholesome, happy American home. However, at a closer look we'll see that this fence is a façade, a lie. Along its pristine ridge we see a trashy beer can and lighter, suggesting substance abuse and sadness. Instead of being used to keep harmful things out, this fence is used to hide the harmful things inside. This white picket fence is actually a symbol of American denial. This white picket fence...is a white picket offense.

I appreciate this artist's statement. The statue of liberty's sign proudly declares LIBERTY, but is this man liberated? Sure, he has his freedom costume, but what else does this man have? It appears not much; he looks pretty poor. The use of color in this photo highlights how this man isn't free, but a prisoner of circumstance. It makes the point that the argument for freedom...is not so black and white.

DOG BEHIND THE RAILS

This dog trapped behind bars represents us, trapped in our cubicles, stuck in traffic, waiting in line at Urban Outfitters...Just as this dog pensively gazes out at the dog park across the way, we long for freedom away from all the chores of every day life. Unlike the man in the photo above, this dog is black and white, surrounded by a world of color that he is barred from. Just like him, we are not free; we are caged animals. Free from the wild, yet prisoners of the rat race...or dog race.

Here we see a pensive man alone in the wilderness through a photo that captures simplicity. But let me assure you, creating this image was no simple matter. Harnessing technology similar to that used by David LaChappelle, I superimposed the forestation seen in the background. My model was actually posing in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot. It's a challenge for an artist to make something artificial seem so very real. A challenge I, as an artist, welcomed.

The eye is drawn to the sign and its cry for help. "Do not block drive." It begs us to examine what is blocking our drive. It's easy to believe we are resigned to this black and white life, but look closely at the picture. Notice how the letters go outside the lines just like the writer is trying to break free of the locked door. Delve deeper to see the play between light and dark highlighting the symbolism of the text. The washed out effect from the letters is our light within trying to break through. I could have shot this head on, but I choose the angle to emphasize the padlock - the darkest part of the photo...the darkest part of life. The lock in the shadows is the darkest parts of our lives; addiction, abandonment, orphanages, greed, metaphorical blindness. That darkness is the secrets and secrets locked deep within each of us - the darkness chaining our drive.

What do YOU think this photo means? Or what did you THINK it meant before I told you?

Protruding out from the coarse stucco, these three holes are a mystery. Where do they lead? What flows through them? The observer cannot know for sure, giving them license to draw up their own interpretations. Looking at them, the viewer can easily conjure up images spanning from pollution to sex to Ninja Turtles and beyond... The true mystery comes from your imagination.

Where do these pipes take your imagination?

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As you all know over the past few months I've been zealously working through a personal rebirth, finding myself outside of my business identity. Yet it's photographs like this that send me staggering right back into that numb industrialized subsistence, and I spit on it.

The photo is cut off at the calf because these drones have no feet of their own to walk on. And just like their outfits, they can only see things in black and white. Their eyes are dead and cold, their hair is pulled back tighter than their stringent schedules, their granny stockings are as gruesome as their attitudes, and their ruffled shirts manage to ironically halt any hint of flirtatious femininity that we all hope to catch a glimmer of at the workplace. Sexiness and treasured individuality have been quelled to produce corporate clones. Usually I'm turned on by any situation involving two women, but this unsightly tragedy makes me want to lock myself up in my darkroom, alone and woebegone.

Here we see what seems to be a somewhat nice-looking girl, maybe a 7, rebelling against the standards put on women. By eating this greasy hotdog sandwich, she's feeding her insatiable hunger to rise up against male standards of beauty. She's willingly transforming from desirable to unattractive. It's ugly, yet compelling... It's tragic. It's beautiful (metaphorically).