The Waters We Swim In
A collaborative portrait project exploring attention, belonging, and our relationship to the living world.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
The Waters We Swim In is an ongoing collaborative portrait project exploring attention, presence, and our relationship to the living world.
Created in lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water, the work invites participants into a slower way of seeing and being seen. Water becomes both site and collaborator—a space of reflection, uncertainty, beauty, and connection.
For many years I have been interested in the ways that place shapes identity. More recently, I have become interested in how the natural world can help us encounter ourselves differently.
When we enter the water, familiar boundaries soften.
The pace changes.
The body listens differently.
The landscape becomes something we belong to rather than something we stand apart from.
These photographs emerge from that meeting place.
Each image is created collaboratively. Participants are not subjects to be directed but partners in a shared act of attention. Together we enter a process that values curiosity over performance and presence over perfection.
The resulting images often feel dreamlike, contemplative, and deeply personal. Yet they also point beyond individual stories toward something more universal: our longing for connection, our relationship to the natural world, and our place within larger living systems.
What becomes visible when we allow ourselves to be held by the living world?
Participant Reflections
I felt immediate relief. So much lighter, immediately.
‘What if it could be easy?’
I felt a profound sense of self trust for the first time in my life.
When we were done, I knew I could do anything.
Become Part of the Project
Some people are drawn to the photographs.
Some are curious about the experience of creating them.
Others simply feel a quiet recognition when they encounter the work.
The Waters We Swim In continues to evolve through new participants, new waters, and new conversations.
If you feel called to learn more about participating, I would love to hear from you.
Participation in the project includes a financial contribution that supports the ongoing creation of the work. Details are shared during an initial conversation.