I fell into photography in a bit of a strange way. I had painted and drawn for as long as I could remember and was always creative in some way. In high school I began to use computers for my art, making videos, using Photoshop and some of the earliest scanners and digital cameras. The quality possible at that time (1994/95) left much to be desired. I’d started having conversations with my art teacher about the use of computers and the frustration with image quality. As a result of this conversation, he produced a camera from a cabinet and subsequently would lend it to me to experiment with. It was a Pentax K1000, which I would come to learn is a lot people’s first SLR camera.

I began photographing in the hallways, in study halls and at sports events. Eventually I became a photographer for the yearbook. The black and white film I shot would be processed for free and I’d excitedly wait to see the result. Upon graduation I purchased my own SLR (a Ricoh KR5 Super II – a K1000 knock off).

I enrolled at The Maine College of Art that fall and discovered photography was one of the electives (I’d assumed, as did other people, I would become a painter). It was there I learned the process of black and white and, eventually, color film processing and printing. The fall semester of my senior year I attended the Burren College of Art in County Clare Ireland. There I was able to focus more on content and use the tools I’d learned at MECA. Being in a new place, with new people and a culture I didn’t know much about was extremely inspiring. I shot more film during those three months than I normally did in a typical year.

During my time at MECA I was able to intern with both Jay York and Tonee Harbert, two local photographers. Where MECA focused on what it meant to be an art photographer, these experiences expanded on what it meant to operate a photography business, working with clients, going out on the field and the use of different equipment.

Since college, I’ve been actively exhibiting in group shows in Maine, Massachusetts and California (please see the Exhibitions/Resumé page).