I like the stillness, the simplicity and the expressions of Ethan Aaro Jones's In Water series.

"As a young adult entering my twenties, I found myself full of questions and I began looking for answers in the photographs I was making of my peers. Still showing glimpses of their youthful innocence, these new adults are wading, beautiful and naked, in the chilly waters of Lake Ontario during cool, early fall mornings. Photographing with my hands and camera resting on top of the water, I have brought the viewer into the situation as a witness to what I encountered with my peers. Each person walks into an aura of pure water and undergoes a transformation. This numbing bath causes social cover–ups and facades to be unveiled by the uneasiness of the water and the entire situation. This act makes the subjects vulnerable and exhausted, presenting a less comfortable yet more honest person. The variety in physical and emotional responses among similar yet clearly different people defines the series. From statuesque arms to nervous fingers and goose–bump covered bodies, the subjects’ appearances display a powerful transition. This newfound tension causes some people to appear totally lost while others maintain their composure. Eventually, all of the subjects’ pretenses are left behind. Through this singular experience everyone is similar. We are here together, not alone. The sense of trust and love, tension and anticipation, emergence and energy displayed in the portraits ultimately speak to the emotions involved for us all as we enter our twenties."

Ethan also has recently started Pause, to begin, a new photography competition currently accepting applications until April 1, 2008. The selected finalists will be announced online April 15, 2008. Ethan and David, the founders of Pause, to Begin, will hit the road in May, 2008 with Bruno Tore, a Portuguese documentary filmmaker, to visit the selected finalists and record the time they experience together.