I have had a love of photography for almost my entire life. At the age of twelve I discovered my first camera store when my mother took me with her on a shopping trip to the nearby city. My mother had a passion for antique furniture and we were visiting a favorite store. I had noticed going into the shop that a few doors down was a camera store, I was immediately intrigued. I asked my mother if I could go in and look around. My mother was a very gracious woman who would always encourage me in any interest that I had, so of course she said yes.
That was the beginning of my journey with photography. Soon after that first visit my parents bought me an inexpensive camera and I started to capture images of the world around me and have continued to this day. My images, even in the early days, were different than other photographers. I have always had a fascination for how I could use the camera to show things that have the potential for beauty but are overlooked.
I started what might be called my photographic career on the high school newspaper, photographing sporting events and musical competitions. As an undergraduate student in college I studied photography and related courses, but it wasn’t until I went to graduate school at The Savannah College of Art and Design that I became aware of the many possibilities that photography could achieve artistically. I earned my Master of Fine Arts degree there, which enabled me to acquire a teaching position at the Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri in 2015. I currently teach three photography classes at the university as an adjunct.