Originally from Sioux City, IA, I'm a theatrical and architectural lighting designer. I studied at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln for two years before transferring to Penn State University for three years. I'm now back in the Midwest, settling into a new job in Chicago. Along the way, I've traveled and worked many places and met lots of people.

I continually find myself drawn to lighting for many of the reasons I also enjoy photography - light is inherently ethereal, unknown. Einstein is credited as saying that “he who tells you what light is, is a fool.” Yet lighting design is precisely about shaping that ethereal unknown - isolating and capturing a moment, creating an image out of almost nothing at all, evoking a mood with just a few rays, and then having it fade into nothing more than a memory just as quickly as it appeared. Light is a physical phenomenon that can be sensed, but it can also have an emotional effect that cannot be measured. It takes art and science, along with a fair bit of daring, to bring it to its fullest potential. Too often, however, it is easy to get lost in the tangible elements, the science and the numbers, the equipment and the technology, and to lose sight of the beautiful art of sculpting an object in space, be it the human body or the tallest spires.

I started taking photographs a long time ago, trying to preserve the fleeting moment. Along the way, I discovered light to be my true passion. I’m a fairly recent convert to the digital realm - it wasn’t until Kodak stopped making my favorite films and I planned a trip abroad that I finally gave in. I hope to get some of my old prints and slides scanned and up here soon. For now, enjoy.

Gear:

Canon A630

Nikon N70

Nikkor AF 50mm f1:1.8

Nikkor Series E 50mm f1:1.8

Nikon MC-12B Remote

Canon AV-1 ($15 on garage sale w/ 2 lenses below!)

Canon Lens FD 50mm f1:1.8

Vivitar Telephoto 135mm f1:2.8

Vivitar 35 Light Meter

Assorted Filters

Daiwa S-57E Tripod ($5 on garage sale!)

Gorillapod

Lowe Pro Nova 4 bag

Adobe Creative Suite