I became interested in photography at a very young age. When I was 10 years old my Mom had an old Canon SLR camera she shot with for family photographs. On a camping trip I asked if I could take a photo. “One photo only” was granted to me.
I stood by the lake and waited. It was sunset and I waited 20 minutes for the sun to get ½ way down the horizon with a sailboat exactly in the middle of the sun as a silhouette. This was on film and I got the exposures right. The photo later was in an exhibition at the California County Fair. I still have that photo as a reminder of the patience I had at 10 years old to seek the perfect shot and the very basic understanding on how to take a photograph, with no training.
My mother allowed me to enroll in a summer workshop for photography after that one photo. That year I started printing B&W in the darkroom. I never stopped taking photographs.
I did 2 years at a community college, where I took some photography and media classes. I’m grateful for that education because it was there I learned a great deal about advanced B&W printing based on Ansel Adams' techniques. There was one class in particular that impacted the way I see and understand black and white photography for the better.
However, before I could make the decision of whether to pursue an associate or four-year degree I was offered a spot touring with an exhibition which led to The Discovery Network hiring me to shoot a documentary for them. Being 19, the notion of staying in school or being paid for what I was going to school for made the decision easy. I guess I decided to wing it; I think it worked out.
Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t move forward with a formal degree. From what I understand of most programs I would have signed on to, there is a strong emphasis on commercial work and that is not my interest. Allowing my career to organically evolve has given me the freedom to engage my instincts with respects to my art. Not to suggest that a formal degree is counter-intuitive, rather, I am assured, if nothing else, that my process and collections are bred from my need and curiosity to translate the humanity of my environments.