Thanks for scrolling this far down and hope that my words support my images. As much as I love being in front of the camera, I love talking about myself. If you can’t tell, I have a dry sense of humor and I like long walks on the beach. So here is my short walk through why I photograph and want to connect with people around me.

 

I have spent most of my life with a focus on the challenges that humanity faces around the world while also being a witness to the fortitude to keep moving forward. Through different roles that range from providing aid to the people of Nicaragua after a crippling mudslide caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 to then an EMT/firefighter in Alaska before joining the Navy in 2004. I served in the Navy as a Corpsman that provided medical care to the Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan until 2013. It was at this point I shifted directions while keeping to my core belief in humanity. I picked up a camera, and with unbelievable support from my family and the veteran community, I enrolled into Montana State University’s School of Film and Photography and graduated in 2017.

 

Photography has now taken me to Cambodia to help bring awareness in the need for fresh drinking water. It has also given me opportunities to capture important moments with veterans fly fishing with Warriors and Quite Waters. In 2017, I started a passion project that is simple in nature but embodies my whole belief in the endurance of the human spirit. American Veteran is a collection of over 200 portraits processed into black and white that focuses on the eyes that can tell the story of the soul.

 

I have found myself all around the world, connecting with amazing people, cultures, and their stories. I believe that everyone has a story, and that story deserves to be told.

Okay, now go back up and look at some more photos and be inspired to ask more questions.