Statement

I photograph exotic people who have fearlessly lived their lives. They are usually a little banged up around the edges, but that’s what I love about them. 

My work has taken me from hardcore porn sets in the early 1980s, into the BDSM world in the 1990s, to the fashion world, and into a seedy motel room that I built as a set in my living room. I’m currently developing an independent feature film about a porn star at the end of the Golden Age of Porn. 

Over time I’ve evolved from classic fly-on-the-wall documentary photography, to constructing images that look like furtive caught moments, or scenes from movies. But throughout the years, my focus has remained the same – to make an intimate connection with each person I photograph. 

My images humanize sex workers, porn stars, transexuals, hustlers, and a lot of other colorful people. I want to erase the boundaries between us and them, and show our deep connection to each other.

Looking back over my work and what it means to me, the hardcore porn work that started my career – the American Ecstasy series – seems more relevant now than ever. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we still haven’t come to terms with the place of sex work, sexual expression, and pornography in our culture.