Hi, I’m Tony. I didn’t get into photography the way most people start off. It didn’t start off as a youth calling, a 
longtime passion, or a career inspired drive the way others have pursued photography. It started off as a life event that planted a seed and grew from there.
During my last trip to Manila, Philippines in 2009, I had some free time available to travel into the heart of the city and check out one of the larger malls there. I was originally there for work reasons which is what paid for the travel, the hotel, the living expenses, etc. When I wasn’t working, I used all my available time to train Muay Thai at a local MMA gym from a long time Muay Thai fighter. If I wasn’t training at the MMA gym, I was recovering, getting massages to reduce the bruising, lifting weights, swimming laps, or working on technique when the gym wasn’t open. I didn’t allow myself a lot of time for anything else. The time during my last trip was coming to a close and I wanted to pick up a few souvenirs before heading back to the United States.
I called for a cab and headed out to one of the larger malls some friends mentioned I should check out before leaving. The cab went through some local neighborhoods that gave me a good sense of what some of the city is like that’s not located on the main business streets. I remember turning down one of the neighborhood streets and seeing four small kids playing. They looked like they were only about the ages of 4 and 5 years old and they were playing on the side of the road where cars were driving in and out of that area. The cabbie was driving slow probably because of the speed limit and time felt like it just decided to stop. Giving me lots of time to take in the whole moment.
From inside of my cab passing by, I looked around for a parent that would be watching these kids so I could feel better about the situation. An adult. Anybody really. But I didn’t see anyone. Then I looked at these little kids as I passed by. I saw 2 little boys and a little girl getting together along the fence like 3 friends would do getting ready to pose for a picture. Hands over shoulders, scoot-ching in, and smiling. The little girl had on an older boys white t-shirt that was definitely used and a lot-a-bit dirty. No shoes, no socks, nothing else. Both little boys had on pants with one little boy having a shirt to wear with the pants. Also no socks and no shoes. Smiling, laughing, while doing different poses for the pictures they were taking. They were completely oblivious to anything else except the moments they were creating.
Then I saw the fourth child, the photographer. The photographer was a little girl. She had short bunchy light brown hair that looked like it had never seen a comb. She had no shirt like the other little girl. She had no pants like any of the boys. She had no socks and no shoes. And she definitely had no camera. And there she was, naked for the world to see, no apparent care that it mattered with her imaginary camera taking pictures of her friends while she went from standing positions to kneeling positions.
As we passed on by, I felt a large lump in my throat and thought about that moment during the entire drive to the mall which felt like it lasted for forever. When my cab finally got to the mall, reality set in and I finally thought about more then my own feelings. All I was wearing that day were some jeans and a simple black cheap t-shirt. As I was stepping out of the cab, I almost asked the cab driver if we could go back to the place I saw those kids that he may not have seen. The same place I had no idea what street or area I saw them playing at. And my only description I would have been able to provide where half dressed kids. Common sense kicked in and I remembered I was visiting a foreign country, asking to go back could have created a bad image of intent, and my driver didn’t speak english very well. I knew I missed an opportunity to give that naked little girl my own shirt because I was stuck on the emotional part of what I saw.
That moment has been a part of me ever since. A few years later I realized I
wanted to get a camera to capture moments, places, & people. So I got a camera and spent the next couple of years learning about my camera and trying different things. The calling I have when I take my pictures is to find the enjoyment that I remember seeing a little girl have when she took her pictures through her amazing camera. My passion is to try and take pictures that speak to me even if they don’t speak to anyone else and hope they come close to the amazing pictures that I can only imagine that little girl took. My best pictures are the ones where I’m talking to the subject, whether it’s a model, an animal, or scenic area. And yes I probably look a little crazy talking out loud to that moving tree or stationary rock.
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