I want to keep the focus off of me. Sometimes, I'll act something out for the camera (play a character) because it's easier for me that way. The dog, the doll, and the classy Criterion dvds are meant to distract your attention. When I was a teenager, I had such terrible acne that I wore concealer makeup to school every day. I did not want to be looked at; I dreaded class photos because I knew I would be found out. I never got over that need to hide in plain sight when photographed.

My profile picture doesn't reveal my physical characteristics. No one really cares to see the years effects. I chose more of a representation of my life. With each dark storm comes light.

This photo would suggest the current avatar of a not-so-current "Downeaster" trying to recapture the bucolic memories, sounds and smells of a slower, kinder time: the smell of the fresh-frozen winter air; the skunky-sweet waft of pine needles on the wet forest floor; the crunch of day-old snow under my boots; and the balm of the east coast seashore - a native New Englander - permanently grounded in the southern desert for one reason or another. The seaweed-layered white sand beaches have been replaced by the pale hot Sonoran floor; the blue spruce replaced by cacti and mesquite; and the plucky sea gulls replaced by scavenging raptors. So! Here I sit in the desert, steeped in the palms and yucca, ALL these years later – all dressed up and . . . . waiting for ‘winter.’ Ironic, yes?

Description: "On the surface, you have me dressed as John Bender from "The Breakfast Club" in a Halloween-inspired tribute to John Hughes. Beneath the surface, at least to me, it's a reminder of a path in life I stepped away from. My initial plans, post college, were to go into film and television, specifically screenwriting. I'm currently working a job to pay the bills, which more or less sapped the drive I had to continue to pursue that path. Luckily, I was able to pick up an interest in photography and have devoted my time to making that work. Still, every Halloween, I do my best to produce a movie-inspired Halloween costume as both a tribute to the film and a reminder of the past.