I grew up in a very small town in Lake Crystal, Minnesota (YES, I love the snow). I attended college at Mankato State University Minnesota, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree and specializing in photography. Towards the end of college, I worked at the Mankato Free Press as a photojournalist, which gave me great experience with news/events/sports/portrait photography. The one main thing I learned there is that you had to make it happen...you could not come back without a shot for the paper. There was always pressure involved but you learn to focus your skills to make every shot count (this was also when I was shooting film so every shot did count, ha).
My passion for nature/wildlife photography has taken me to some great locations around the world. I have traveled to Nepal, Bangkok, Virgin Islands, Iceland, Olympic NP, Mt. Rainier NP, Yosemite NP, Yellowstone NP, Rocky Mountain NP, Arches NP, Craters of the Moon NP, Devils Tower NP, Glacier NP, Badlands NP, Smoky Mountains NP, and Mammoth Cave NP...many more to come.
One of the other things I really like to do is cook. I have worked as a cook for years which helped pay for my photography back in my college years. I still very much enjoy being in the kitchen. I have acquired a passion for cooking because it is a different type of creative outlet for me...and my wife loves it too!
We moved to Colorado at the very end of 2019. Stephanie and I were not great fans of Tennessee, it's a great place, just not for us. We are too outdoorsy and adventurous for the delta. We absolutely love it out here and can see ourselves retiring in this wonderful state.
Before Colorado, I was Senior Photographer/Creative Liaison at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (2006-2020) in Memphis, TN. I shot all types of photography: photojournalism, public relations, medical, research, in-studio portraits (strobes), location portraits (strobes and/or continuous lighting), sports, travel, editorial, commercial, and (lots of ) celebrity photography. My job has made a powerful impact on my life. Through my years at St. Jude I hoped I have made a difference using photography to raise awareness and draw attention to children that have catastrophic disease. We live in such a visual world these days and photography can be a powerful resource. See my SJCRH Portfolio.
Currently, I am the Integrated Media Producer at Denver International Airport (2020-present). What is a Integrated Media Producer you might ask...I am the photographer, videographer and audio guy. It is certainly a change from my last job. I have always had a passion for travel so it makes sense that I am now working at an airport, a cool one at that! I capture images/create videos of the airport for internal/external marketing, social media, events, calendars, and much much more. It's hard to explain the thrill of driving on the airfield and coming up to a stop sign and a massive plane crosses your path...so damn cool!
CERTIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
Adobe Certified Associate (ACA)
Adobe Photoshop CC / Adobe Bridge CC / Adobe Lightroom CC / Adobe Lightroom Mobile / Portrait Studio / Premiere Pro CC / Final Cut Pro X / Kyno / Exposure X7 / Capture One 21 / ON1 Photo RAW / Luminar NEO/ Luminar AI / Aurora HDR Pro / LRTimelapse 5 / Cinemagraph Pro / Plotagraph Pro / Extensis Portfolio / Adobe Creative Suite / DeltaWalker / JPEG Mini /
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) 2003, Specializing in Photography Minnesota State University - Mankato, MN
SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS
IMAX National Parks Adventure
February 2016 Devil’s Tower National Monument photo published in both companion books (full page spread) to IMAX MacGillivray Freeman Films, National Parks Adventure. America marks the 100th birthday of the National Park Service.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital April 2006-2020
Publishes include: TIME, Times Square, CELL, People Magazine, yahoo! News, ABC World News, Hotmail.com, Associated Press National Wire, Newswise, AP Images online, ABC World News Tonight, and PRNewswire.com.
Anne Hathaway / Antonio Bandares / Ashley Judd / Cindy Crawford / Daisy Fuentes / First Lady Michelle Obama / Former President Bill Clinton / George Lopez / Jack Nicklaus / Jennifer Anniston / Jewel / Jimmy Kimmel / Katherine McPhee / Keith Urban / Luis Fonsi / Jon Hamm / Michael Strahan / Miley Cyrus / Robin Williams / Senator Hillary Clinton / Shaun White / Sofia Vergara / Steven Seagal / Tiger Woods
