I was originally born in Upstate New York. I acquired a taste for photography at a very young age. I attribute a great deal of my success to the desire to convey the feelings I often feel in a scene. It is something that is almost impossible to put into words, even more impossible to just share the feeling- so I'd like to use a picture and hopefully connect with you in a way that is as powerful as if you where standing there next to me with the wind gently blowing along and dancing the leaves. Every photo taken  is a story, some photographic expressions make the connection to our feelings and memories so well some people even consider a fine art photograph to be poetic. 

I started my, mostly self taught, hobby of photography with an old 35mm film camera. I had no idea what I was doing. I just started taking pictures- the camera did most of the work anyhow. But occasionally I would take a picture where the camera wouldn't take care of everything. I took notes as best I could- but didn't really understand what was happening when I took a picture. I then had to figure out why. My 6th grade Science teacher (God Bless teachers) heard my cries for knowledge- he had an old 35mm that he decided we could disassemble in the name of science and the greater good of getting some youngster to understand something that intrigued him oh so much. I finally got it! The mechanics of photography seemed simple. However as I soon discovered- getting the picture that you were seeing was often times different and much more difficult to capture and convey what you felt. There wasn't any one thing that taught me how to capture an image in "my style". It has been much more than just one simple little thing. It has more to do with learning by doing and studying as much art and photography as I could. Learning what it was that I 'liked' in other photographers work and even what I liked in paintings too. I did pick up some class time here and there also but most of my major breakthroughs have come by the way of advice from mentors and other professional photographers that have shared their open minds. 

My desire to embark on a journey and start doing photography for hire came after many long hours of thought, debate, and internal conflict. For so many years it has been the love of my life and I wasn't sure what would happen if I were to start "having to do it". I don't think I fully understood it until I over heard a conversation between two recreational boaters. They had been debating what kind of boat was better: a fast one that uses lots of gas, but you get there quicker, or a slower but more efficient one. The one pivotal reason that the second gentleman gave- was that he loved boating and was doing it because he loved to do it- why would it spoil the time if he went slower and was able to do what he loved- even more... So that is where I am at, I love photography and I love to have constant interaction with people- so it was an easy choice to move to doing it full time!