ARTIST STATEMENT

Austin's work fuses a passion for cinematic framing and composition with the beauty of everyday life, crafting photographs that evoke the essence of movie stills. Rooted in a lifelong love of cinema, popular culture, and an innate flair for theatrics, Austin's imagery captures the fleeting drama of overlooked moments and the unseen narratives unfolding around us.

Primarily a solitary pursuit, Austin's process involves wandering through streets and neighborhoods—whether at home or abroad—searching for compelling compositions and cinematic lighting. Each photograph emerges as a carefully crafted blend of planning, patience, and a touch of post-production magic, transforming ordinary subjects into visual stories imbued with the grandeur of the silver screen.

Central to Austin's vision is a blend of Wabi-Sabi and Sonder—philosophies that shape how he sees and captures the world. Inspired by Wabi-Sabi's celebration of imperfection and impermanence, Austin finds beauty in everyday life's raw, weathered, and transient details: cracked pavement, fading light, and the quiet poetry of decay. At the same time, Sonder informs his sensitivity to the hidden stories within these moments—the realization that every person and place carries a universe of unseen experiences. Together, these ideas guide Austin to reframe the ordinary as cinematic, transforming fleeting scenes into rich, layered narratives that invite reflection and connection.

By weaving these philosophies together, Austin's work becomes a meditation on life's quiet drama—the impermanence of beauty, the authenticity of imperfection, and the profound depth of human experience. With every image, Austin invites viewers to pause, look closer, and embrace the complexity and interconnectedness of the world around them.