I'm an environmental historian at NYU, where I research, write, and teach about the ecological history of Venice and the history of the life sciences in the early modern (1500-1800) world. I have been a photographer since I was a child. I received my first camera for my sixth birthday: a Kodak Instamatic that used 126 Cartridges. Since then I've shot in different film formats and different subjects. I've only recently made the transition to digital, which coincided with birds becoming a favorite subject. I knew my way around a darkroom, but am still finding my feet with digital processing tools. Eventually I'll load up some of my older shots, but for now it is mostly birds.