I was born in Illinois but was raised in Ketchikan, Alaska. I grew up the middle child with four siblings which grew to six siblings when my father re-married. Life was busy growing up but it also provided me with more opportunities to have fun and be mischievous in the Salmon Capitol of the World.
When I was young, I enjoyed playing with my dad's old Nikon film camera and experimenting with the different lenses he had. He loved taking pictures and videos of our family, while I found myself drawn to capturing the beauty of nature around us. As I grew older and entered high school, I received my first point-and-shoot 110 film camera, which I later upgraded to a 35mm camera during my senior year. At the age of twenty, I ventured out on a solo motorcycle trip around the United States, using my camera to document my experiences along the way.
In January 1997, I made the move and stayed at a KOA campground until I found an apartment in Tempe, Arizona and enrolled at Scottsdale Community College, and found a job working in construction. The following semester I enrolled at Arizona State studying business and filmmaking, but I soon realized that I was learning more about business from my job. My job had the potential for a much higher income, which allowed me to focus more time on my hobbies of filmmaking, photography, hiking, and backpacking. I started to travel more, first around Arizona, Utah, California, and Colorado, and then to Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.
During the winter of 2005, my friends and I decided to rent a condo every winter season at a ski resort. We started in Tahoe, but I convinced them to try Breckenridge. After two seasons of exploring all the fantastic ski towns Colorado has to offer, I knew Breckenridge was the place for me. Finally, in 2008, I was able to move here permanently. I brought my belongings in a small U-Haul, a pickup truck, a motorcycle, and a point-and-shoot camera. I changed careers and pursued my passion for photography.
My first digital camera was a Sony A200 with a 50mm lens that I bought used on eBay. I enjoyed capturing images of my surroundings, especially during the night. I spent a lot of time watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to take blue hour shots, photograph the Milky Way, and create time-lapses. One funny experience I had was learning about noise in photos. I thought it would be simple to remove it by hiking further from the road and taking the photo in complete silence. However, to my surprise, there was still noise in my pictures. Eventually, I learned that noise referred to grain.
I was inspired by countless YouTube tutorials and online courses to create my own content. My second tutorial, which showcased how to upload a video on YouTube, received over a million views! Currently, I am producing photography-based tutorials that cover a range of topics from creating a timelapse of the Milky Way to sharing experiences from a Four-Wheel Drive road in the Utah Desert. Additionally, I offer calming beach scenes from the Caribbean and snowy mountain landscapes to serve as background visuals at home.
I haven't done much to promote my videos online except for having a link on my webpage and Facebook. However, I would like to share how I began to get recognition for my photos. As I took more pictures all around Colorado, I wanted to share them with my loved ones. So, I started sending an email a few times a month with my latest images. In 2012, I created a Facebook page, and started selling my work through Fine Art America. This system worked for several years, but I knew there was more potential for sharing my work. Now that I have started using Art Store Front, I hope the browsing and shopping experience is more enjoyable for everyone.
My marketing strategy has undergone recent changes, and I owe it all to my wife, Amy. We met in Breckenridge during Oktoberfest in 2017, one of the most romantic events in town! I knew she was the one for me when she agreed to join me on all of my adventurous excursions. We both love the outdoors, hiking, skiing, traveling, and photography. Although we have different photographic styles, we complement each other. While I capture the beauty of a field of Aspen trees, she focuses on the intricate details of the bark or leaves. Our wedding took place on the same weekend we first met, marking the beginning of everything. I have two wonderful stepdaughters, and a mini-golden doodle named Summit, who joins us on our many adventures.
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