The majority of my work is made using a process I call bare-sensor photography, which involves removing the lens from a camera and projecting light directly onto its exposed sensor. There is a fair amount of care and stress involved, since the sensor is a delicate thing, and easily damaged by fingers, dust, and other intrusions. Once exposed, the sensor only 'sees' a field of unfocused light; if I capture an image at this point, it appears only as a flat field of white or gray.
The exact techniques I use vary from project to project, but I begin by choosing a light source. I use sources ranging from the sun, to ceiling lights, to desk lamps, to flashlights. Each produces unique colors and effects. For some works, I leave the light source exposed; for others, I partially cover it with dark foil, or cover it entirely except for a small pinhole. No matter what, there is always an element of chance in how the light behaves.
Depending on the project, I may hand-hold the camera, or mount it to a clamp or tripod. Much of my earlier light-based work was handheld, and I manipulated the light with nothing more than my fingers curled around the front of the sensor. It is a kind of reverse shadow-puppetry, blocking small parts of the light to make shapes and spaces with what remains.
As I progress, I have started to introduce more objects: Catchlight, for example, is made with glass elements, which I assemble in sequence to twist and distort the light in more complex ways. In my latest work, Firstlight, I used clear and smoky quartz to scatter the light, producing both a pinpoint of brightness and a rainbow of color.
A single finished image requires hundreds, sometimes thousands of attempts; even then, a captured image is only raw material. In development, I may add color, or emphasize form, or remove certain distractions. But I try to keep interventions minimal, and let the light speak for itself.