John's profile
For the past 40 years, I’ve been telling stories through film and video. This project brings me back to a foundational lesson from film school: before you can master motion, you must understand the still image. Pierspective is rooted in that principle—capturing the power of a single frame to tell a story.
The wooden pier outside my front door is a fixed stage for an endlessly changing cast of Charm City characters—walking, running, dancing, posing, or passing by with friends, children, partners, pets — sometimes even on unexpected vehicles. Despite its static vantage point, my Ring doorbell camera records a daily stream of low-resolution footage filled with fleeting moments of beauty, humor, and humanity—shaped by shifting light and weather.
I extract the most compelling frame from each clip. I then digitally enhance it—applying filters or brush strokes, and occasionally compositing additional elements when the story calls for embellishment. What begins as surveillance becomes art, and what seems mundane becomes memorable.
Pierspective is my way of distilling these moments—serendipitous, raw, and real—into still images that invite viewers to pause and imagine the narratives unfolding just outside my front door.
