I was born and raised in NYC in the bad old days, when it was still rough and tumble. Growing up in an eccentric showbiz family it just seemed natural that I’d become a performer. I was a child model, went to the “Fame” school, spent my summer holidays acting in summer stock, winters dancing at Lincoln Center and my teens and twenties working in film, television and commercial voice over.

So, it was wholly unexpected that a couple of decades later I would find myself one hot sticky New York summer enrolled in a class at the International Center for Photography. I never intended for it to be more than just something fun to do over the summer. But it turned out to be much more.

I loved the assignments that sent me trolling the city at all hours for people to capture and stories to tell, the long days in the darkroom developing and printing my photos and the hours I would spend imagining, conceptualizing and planning shoots with friends that weren't sick of me begging and pleading to photograph them.

After a few years of this, it was clear it wasn't just a passing thing, so I hung up my dreams of being the next Meryl Streep and threw myself into it full on. After trying on different hats I realized that above all else I loved photographing people.

People are  beautiful, unpredictable, deep, raw, open, guarded, messy, intriguing, passionate and inspiring. No matter how much you try and prepare ( and I’m a big preparer ) you never quite know what you’re going to get which is exactly why I’ve been doing this for close to 2 decades. I’m never bored because no person or gig is ever the same.

My hope is my work looks aesthetically beautiful, but for me to keep getting up at the crack of dawn and loading up my gear bag year after year, there’s got to be more to it than that. I’m interested in discovering who you really are. And when some invisible barrier has been broken and glimmers of authenticity start shining thru that’s when I know we’ve really got something. That’s when I know the work is where I want it to be.

Timothi xxoo