Photographer's Profile

Whitney Dafoe

Whitney Dafoe, United States

I have always been passionate about creating things. Whether it is photography, music, art, cooking, gardening, or any simple activity or endeavor I can be creative with. I find a lot of meaning in creating beauty in the world around me. I have been photographing since high school and it has been my main creative outlet for 23 years since then, often completely dominating my life. Photographing brings me joy and purpose in life that is immeasurable. It is a reason to explore the world, a reason to meet people I would never otherwise meet, a way of communicating that makes sense to me and comes naturally, and a way of creating objects of beauty that impact and resonate and hopefully change other people and the world at large. I have travelled extensively, to all 50 states and many countries worldwide. Most recently in 2007 I spent 8 months in India studying Buddhism. Since 2005 I have been fighting a serious chronic illness called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) which has become so severe that I am now bedridden, unable to speak, eat, drink or when it was at it's worst even simply move for large parts of the day. But I remain hopeful in a cure someday. In the meantime I try to continue pursuing my passions however and whenever I can. When I became housebound from ME/CFS in 2010 I could no longer make the kinds of photographs I had always made. But one day I realized that I had an interesting story to tell and I turned the camera on myself.