Been alive over a quarter century and the only constant through my life has been my love for art. As a kid I didn’t grow up with the best home life, in fact, it was more of a blur of days spent couch surfing at friends’ houses, playing guitar on park benches and lifting at the local gym. When I was in high school, I spent all my time in the art rooms working with every medium I could get my hands on. Art was my escape from poverty, reality, and my anger. Combining my ADHD (my ability to hyper-focus) and the resources available to me at Oil City High School I was able to spend uninterrupted hours honing my art, I developed a love for animation, ceramics, woodworking, and obviously photography.

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After high school I had no idea what I wanted to do and in the process of working some dead end jobs (most every kind you can think of) I decided I wanted to follow my passions and go to college for applied media arts (cinema) it was here I developed and refined my art. Surrounded by other artists and professors I spent hours in the studio working on projects of every medium and variation using newly learned concepts and theories, then having my work critiqued by those same peers. Once college became too expensive to continue and with 20k in debt. I was forced to leave school and re-enter the workforce. I moved to Pittsburgh, and applied for just about any job I could. Out of the what felt like hundreds of applications sent, only three called me back, the first being a cemetery, the second being a county jail and the third a taco bell. I didn't really feel like selling plots or crunch wrap supremes so I decided to test my mantle with the recently convicted, and it turned out I was pretty good at it..

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For a year or so, art took the back burner in my life. With student loans and bills stacking up I decided  to better my life and myself. 

I formulated a plan to work in a state prison, but during a hiring freeze I had to make due. I moved up to the middle of nowhere and started working at a juvenile rehabilitation center, it was working with these kids that I really refined myself as a person and as a leader. Facilitating groups about being a better person and making good decisions, I pushed myself to be the role model the kids needed in their lives in hopes they would push themselves. A year and a half later, the state called me and asked me to come in for an interview; I accepted the position with a massive pay raise, more paid vacation and better benefits. Despite all the benefits it was still one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. In my final group with the kids, I stressed the importance of setting a goal and doing at least one thing every day to reach that goal.

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Make yourself better than the person you were yesterday.

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Working as a corrections officer in a state prison was never my dream, but the time off his job gives me grants me the mobility to explore new places, enjoy new cultures, and new experiences, and I use this job to fund my passions, my art, and my lifestyle. My main passion in life right now is photography, which I try to incorporate in to my life as much as I can.

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Growing up I never had family photos, my senior picture was from picture day, very few photos remain of my parents wedding, only one photo of my grandfather before he passed. What few photos I have I cherish. They were dug out of dusty photo coffins and scanned into the digital age. That’s why I’m so passionate about photography, I get to capture your story, everything you've worked for, the places you’ve gone, the memories you’ve made, and the people you love. I get to bring your memories into the 21st century where they can be shared, liked, stored forever, and accessed at the drop of a hat. 

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I hope you have a better understanding of who I am and why I love doing what I do.

I’m goofy, weird, wildly passionate and I live and breathe the idea that

"It’s more important to click with people than to click the shutter.”

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TLDR: I'm passionate about life, travel, food and photography.