Who am I

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Who am I? It’s a question I’ve never fully answered, but I can share the journey that’s shaping me. I grew up in the heart of Southwestern Virginia—hillbilly country, where overalls and beat-up trucks paint an accurate picture. My childhood and early teens were spent outdoors, roaming the woods, which sparked a lifelong love for nature. There’s something about the forest that feels like home.

At 17, I joined the Army to fund college, never imagining I’d fall in love with the life. Basic training kicked off right after high school, and the Army became a perfect fit. It let me travel and work outdoors, from Germany’s historic towns to Iraq’s sandy fields, Georgia’s towering pines, and the wilds of central Alaska. Life happens, plans change, and you end up on a new path. I was forced into early retirement due to medical issues.

After retirement, my wife, two kids, and I moved back to Germany. I struggled to find my place. Hours spent wandering the woods with my dog became my refuge, and that’s when photography took root. At first, I just wanted to share the beauty I saw with my wife while she was at work. I’d always snapped photos, but I never considered becoming a photographer. Over time, I found joy in sharing my images and the stories behind them. If you ask my wife why I love photography, she’d laugh and say it’s because I prefer nature to people. She’s not wrong.

Nature is where I feel grounded. Animals and the outdoors feel more natural to me than a room full of people. After messing around for a few years, I decided to improve my photography knowledge. I started with a few classes at the New York Institute of Photography. At that point, photography was just an expensive hobby. My kids also had an expensive hobby—horses—and life got in the way again. Our largest horse injured his leg, which triggered issues with a genetic condition. To provide him with what he needed, I started selling off my camera gear. I felt crushed letting go of my equipment, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I wasn’t going to let an animal suffer for no reason.

Time went on, and I slowly started taking photos again, which led to getting a better camera. This was the third time I returned to photography. Around then, I received an email that some of my college credits were approaching the 10-year mark and would no longer count toward my degree. I had just over 110 credits for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology. I didn’t want to lose them, so I found a degree in—what else—photography. I had to take some extra classes, but I didn’t care; each one was about photography or running a business. Those two years of classes were actually a lot of fun. They pushed me to try new things in photography, like portrait, street, and studio lighting. The experience made me enjoy photography even more. Now, I have a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Photography.

In the fall of 2024, I decided to actually start a photography business. I’d been asked again and again to take on jobs, but I didn’t want to deal with the paperwork and headaches of owning a business again. Well, it happened, and here I am with a photography business.