I've been making art my whole life. Before I ever held a camera, I drew portraits of real people, and I loved the act of creating something out of nothing.
The first photograph that mattered to me was one I took of a group of seniors. When I looked at that frame, I couldn't stop looking. The lines on their faces held stories they'd never told me. Whole lifetimes were visible in a single image: the pain, the struggle, the years of carrying on. I could see it in their eyes.
That photograph set the direction of my photography journey. I wanted to see people that clearly, and to keep what I saw.
Whatever room I'm in, I'm watching for the same thing: the moment people are fully themselves. I spot those moments easily. I always have. Turning them into your story is what I do.
And every one of those moments happens exactly once. It will never happen again, at least not that same way. Being there for it, seeing it, and holding it the instant it happens is the passion of my life.
Our name means “speaking” in Greek. The moment speaks. I listen with a camera.
That's Omilia: the beauty of people, and the craft of keeping it.
— Chris