Photography has been a part of my life experience for a long time, but it is recently that I've begun to take it to the next level. As a kid I owned cameras from a young age, finally working my way up to my first 35mm SLR film camera. Taking classes at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and many hours behind the lens helped me to learn aspects of taking a good photo. Hours in the darkroom brought out my passion for further creating my vision, and was a way to make my art my own.

And then came the digital age. Not having to develop film led me to try things I might not have tried otherwise. Different perspectives, lighting, settings, composition... the list is long. For me, experimenting when taking the photograph teaches me a lot.

I miss the smell of development chemicals and that feeling of being closed off in a place where creative magic takes place, but I have to say that the "digital darkroom" has rocked my world! Photography as an art has never been more alive and I'm so lucky to get to experience it firsthand.

Since 2008, I've immersed myself further by taking workshops, reading article after article, learning the software editors I own, and most importantly, practicing my craft by getting behind the lens often. For me, there is no better way to learn than to "just do it", and I continue to learn new things almost daily!

Like any artist, sharing my ideas and creations gives me a lot of pleasure. I hope you'll enjoy looking at them as I go forward in creating my personal style.

"You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~ Ansel Adams ~

"One can't paint New York as it is, but rather as it felt. "Georgia O'Keeffe