The people in my photographs were complete strangers to me, when I photographed them in my hometown of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland and in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. It wasn’t until I entered into conversation with these strangers that the difference between their outward appearance and inner selves became apparent. I was fascinated by the stories and thoughts that they shared with me, the transcript of which I have placed on the wall next to my images. Although the portraits are accurate representations of a particular moment in time, they can never be representative of the person as a whole. My divided photographs are my way of expressing this shortcoming of truth that occurs both in a single photographic portrait and in the act of a fleeting impression. Just as it is impossible to capture the essence of a person in one photograph, one can never truly know a person after a single interaction. It is only through conversation that we are able to challenge our initial assumptions. It takes effort to get beyond the surface of my photographs, just as it takes effort to learn more about a person you don’t know. It is only through the act of looking deeper that we can uncover the beauty of the unexpected and the rewards of freeing ourselves from preconceived notions about those who are different from ourselves.