I chose to title this book "the incomplete collection" because I couldn't decide on a thematic direction to take the book. Would it simply be a book containing images? Would I include narrative documentation of my experiences photographing the men who posed for me? Or would I write about the creative process of capturing the male nude?

The other challenge to putting this collection together was the fact that it never felt ready. I doubted that I photographed enough men or had the right array of men to actually put an entire body of work together. I believe that most artists struggle with this sense of incompleteness. It can always use one more brushstroke.

Essentially, I hit an emotional rock bottom towards the end of 2011. I was unhappy in my 9 to 5 corporate life and disappointed that I hadn’t done anything about my passion to live life as an artist and not as a slave to the corporate machine. Here I was experiencing the most lifestyle discontent that I had ever experienced, and I literally had two hard drives full of images I had created as a hobbyist and amateur photographer that were begging to be printed and bound. Although I knew this collection would be incomplete, it would be the next step in my path to pursuing my life as an artist.

Since I first picked up a camera in 2004, I learned quite a bit about myself and others as a result of my experiences behind the lens. Between these pages you will find some of my favorite images I’ve shot and some random narratives about the men and the process. I hope you enjoy this incomplete collection. I certainly enjoyed being the person behind the lens composing it.