
Laura and Brady in the Shadow of Our House (Color), 1994

Brady and Lisa, 1986

Brady and Me in Bath, 1986

Brady and Lisa After Bath, 1986

Brady on the Floor, 1986

Alice, 1986

Lisa and Brady, 1986

Brady, 1986

Brady and Lisa, 1986

Brady in Crib, 1986

Brady in Crib #2, 1986

Brady in Crib #3, 1986

Lisa and Brady Behind Glass, 1986

Brady and Lisa, 1987

Milk Bottle, 1987

Boy with Bubble, 1987

Slide, 1987

Bank, 1987

Children's Book, 1987

Brady and Slide, 1987

Bed and Doll, 1987

Boy, Bottle, and TV, 1987

Brady on the Floor, 1987

Brady, Ball, and Etchsketch, 1987

Chair and Shoe, 1987

Children and Playhouse, 1987

Empty Playhouse, 1987

Dollhouse Table, 1987

Evan, 1987

Girl and Cage, 1987

Jigsaw Puzzle on Table, 1987

Julian, Brady, and Lisas, 1987

Lisa and Brady in Corridor, 1987

Nat and Peter, 1987

Puzzle, 1987

Seven Crayons, 1987

Sink from Below, 1987

Boy with Stuffed Animals, 1987

Sofa, 1987

Spinning Wheel, 1987

Ball, 1987

Brady with Skin Rash, 1987

Chair on Chair, 1987

Crayons, 1987

Mother and Son Crossing Street, 1987

Lisa, Abe, and Brady, 1987

Dollhouse, 1987

Footprints, 1987

Self Portrait, 1987

Refrigerator, 1987

Sandbox, 1987

Toy Blocks, 1987

Broken Tree and House, 1987

Toy Horse, 1987

Andy, Sheila, and Lisa with Evan and Brady, 1987

Brady Looking at Book, 1988

Two Boys, 1988

Nick and Alice, 1988

Nat Diving, 1988

Slide, 1988

Brady Sleeping, 1989

Girl in Window, 1989

Julian, 1989

Julian, 1989

Lisa and Brady, 1989

Lisa with Brady Behind, 1989

Brady Sitting, 1989

Manny, 1989

Three Boys Watching TV, 1989

Tim, 1989

Lisa and Brady in Bed, 1990

Brady, 1990

Brady and Lisa, 1990

Brady Looking at his Shadow, 1991

Funeral, 1990

Doll House in Backyard, 1990

Brady, 1991

Laura with Us, 1991

Manteiga Family, 1991

Brady Jumping, 1991

Family Multiple Exposure, 1991

Brady and Cat Sleeping, 1991

Brady with Haircut, 1991

Brady and Lisa, 1992

Laura and Brady in the Shadow of Our House, 1994
Childhood
Our son, Brady, was born in 1986. My daughter, Laura, in 1991. Becoming a father changed me a lot. For one, I looked at things and people more emotionally and open than before. I did however remain full of artistic ambition. My street pictures from the past were generally about finding some poetic order in street scenes Even though I liked those images they did strike me as emotionally distant. I was heavily influenced by the work of Cartier- Bresson, Diane Arbus and Robert Frank. In the contained world of our apartment I made pictures that required more attention, sensitivity, focus and time than any work prior in my life. In a way I began to add heart to my eyes but I also knew that I did not want to make nostalgic pictures, I wanted to picture something about an artist looking at childhood that had the fresh face of a new situation. The pictures that came out of this period were mostly quiet looking and of subjects at rest with interesting light, closeness, and point of view. Often my exposures were minutes long. In taking my time so to speak I had the luxury of considering and meditating on a bunch of ideas and thoughts while working. It’s not quite Zen, but when I stared at a milk bottle during a five-minute exposure while Brady was taking a nap, my mind underwent interesting changes. This period was such a gift to my art, it provided room to grow. Much of my later pictures have some of the DNA from this time. As I have said, becoming a father had a radical shift in in the balance of my emotional and artistic life. I would say that those two poles got closer. The strategy of photographing things as if seen by Brady liberated me from depending on the usual “grown up” angles of seeing. I put my camera on the floor often because that’s where I played with Brady. What touched my imagination radically was discovering how “normal” objects seen from the new perspectives of the ground changed my perception and vision of them from the floor for instance a sofa is not what one thinks of a sofa exactly-it’s stranger and monster-like! Imagine what a baby sees! A door becomes alive in countless ways. This approach is like a nonacademic method to ask the linguistic question, what is in a name. Typically, adults don’t spend time sitting on the ground, it’s not that useful or practical but artistically it’s really beneficial and wonderful, I recommend it!