I became Patti's [Smith] messenger, basically, and the film is my view of how I learned about Patti.

Because the filming process was so organic and there was no script, the film [Dream of Life] was literally telling us what it wanted to be in the editing room.

I like not knowing too much about somebody I'm photographing, because the process also becomes an experience for me to learn about .

Many of my family members are teachers in the arts, and I picked up the camera years ago, in high school.

Sometimes my fashion pictures can look a little bit like documentary style pictures. So having a camera in my hand was normal.

When I went to Detroit, I was very naïve, actually, and I think Patti [Smith] picked up on that quite quickly.

Fashion has also been a great outlet, and I'd like to do more fashion photography in the future. I also photograph a lot of artists.