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about the doha project

The country of Qatar if booming and Doha is at the center of this full-force forward effort. As the pearl industry was drying up a vast amount of natural gas and oil was found under the deserts of Qatar. The country has the world's largest per capita production and proven reserves of both oil and natural gas and in 2010 it had the largest gdp per capita in the world. The monarchic government is investing very heavily in the countries infrastructure. They are building skyscraper after road after shopping plaza with the hopes that people will occupy them in the future. It is yet to be seen if the people will come. As of now a large amount of these absolutely beautiful buildings and destination spots sit empty. The project is about recording this middle-east country as it move full speed ahead into the adoption of a western like world. It is a records of the old and new as it goes through this major reinvention of itself.

statement about the work

My photographic process has always been about documenting people and place to create records of the ordinary - and, through that process, finding poetry within the mundane. Creating large-scale panoramic photographs allows me to show simultaneously details and relationships at multiple spacial and perceptual levels—for example, both the self-conscious way a young woman holds her hand by her side as she allows someone to photograph her, as well as her place in the sea of people around her engaged in a similar task. It allows me to show a sweeping view of the cityscape from a distance, while simultaneously revealing the fine details of the scales of a fish that a boy proudly displays for the camera.

The photographs are on average around 85 inches long (there is also a 44 inch long version). They are ultrachrome inkjet prints, printed on a Epson 9800. Generally I assemble 6 to 8 separate images in PhotoShop to create almost a 360 view.