A Little About Me...

My parents instilled in me an appreciation of nature, starting with the trees in our yard and continuing on through the family vacations we took exploring the upper mid-west.  From the Wisconsin Dells, to Glen Lake in Michigan and the Boundary Waters of Canada I found good company not only with my parents and brothers, but in the realm of nature around me.

A family move took us to northern Virginia where we began to explore the lovely mountains of the Blue Ridge.  Increasingly I desired to learn more about what other creatures need not only to survive, but to live freely in the environment for which they were created.  In time I attended college at Virginia Tech and earned a Bachelor’s in Forestry and Wildlife Management.  As a graduation present my parents gave me a 35mm SLR Pentax SuperProgram.  Once again they fostered my love of nature and gave me the impetus to explore nature through the new perspective of the camera lens.

Today I work professionally as an urban forester in northern Virginia and use my spare time to enjoy nature wherever I travel, often with camera in tow.  I use Nikon digital cameras and a variety of Nikon and Sigma lenses.  I enjoy time alone waiting for some little sprite like a pika, a dipper, or a wood duck to accept my presence so I can be part of their lives and their homes for a little while.  I enjoy waiting for the colors of evening to wrap sky and land and me in their story.  It makes me realize how we are meant to be not only stewards of the land, but part of the land.

I want my photography to be useful in promoting the care and well-being of all the creatures that bring fullness to this earth.  I want to convey the beauty of nature and its inherent goodness.  For the value of every creature is not based on its usefulness to us, but rather in God, who brought every creature into being, giving them life, purpose, places to live and a call to be fruitful.  The value of every natural landscape is likewise rooted in the God who created them, made them beautiful and fruitful and gave them purpose.  Then, when he looked at all he had made, he called it "very good".

“How many are your works, O Lord!  In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”  Psalm 104:24.

Enjoy.