I began photography as a way to share time with my mother and grandmother on our farm in upstate New York. My grandmother was a very religious person, and used photography as a way to appreciate God’s creations. When she died of cancer, I always had photography as a way to link myself back to her. When I was 14 I sold my first image to a calendar company and shortly thereafter began my portrait photography business. The business grew to be successful quickly and I began winning a variety of photography awards, including an award that gave me a week-long convention and tutoring alongside National Geographic photographers (NANPA).

Although I had always been a ‘nerd’ and focused intensely on my academic studies in high school, when it came time to graduate I decided to pursue my real passion— photography. I then studied photography, business and political science at Syracuse University and graduated summa cum laude in May 2008.

Throughout my photo career, I have fallen in love with all different genres of photography. I started my career as a nature photographer, because I loved making stunning and serene images that would reveal the secret beauties of nature to others. After that I focused on portraiture, and loved capturing the emotions in the eyes of children. Then in college I focused on photojournalism, and loved the way that my camera would invite me into different worlds to tell unique stories. Finally, I found where my heart really belonged— with fashion photography. I had always needed a way to make my creative visions a reality, and all other forms of photography had had too many rules for me. I discovered what I really loved about photography- I loved that I could contribute something beautiful to the world and that these beautiful things could come from the depths of my imagination and desires. I could become a creator of beauty.
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