Fishing was one of the activities that I enjoyed throughout the year. As a part of a boating and fishing family, I learned to fish with my mother at the age of two, delighting in each catch. By the age of five, I was fly-fishing with my grandfather. We’d spend the late afternoon hours trekking through the woods in search of the perfect still pond with hungry fish. Glorious summer sunsets were spent casting fly after fly with my grandfather at my side.

Fishing was not simply a hobby for me… but a way of life. I remember the look in my mom’s eyes as she’d excitedly say, “let’s go fishing!” and we’d head off on our weekly adventure. One of my favorite things to do as a child was to tie flies for my grandfather, a tradition I’ve now passed on to my children.

One of my first summer jobs was at a fish hatchery. It was such a pleasure feeding and caring for Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Landlocked Salmon. The best days I remember were when we would stock the local waterways with the fish… knowing that soon they’d provide countless hours of fishing and food for the people of the Lakes region.

Fishing was just one of the first ways I connected to nature in those remarkable woods. Hunting was also a huge part of my life. For me, hunting was a way to be close to my Dad and Grandfather as we’d spend our days in the woods together.

My grandfather was an avid skeet and trap shooting coach. With many rounds of training, I became proficient with a shotgun. At a young age, I learned to hunt grouse, pheasant, ducks, geese, and rabbits. As a teenager, I hunted deer and moose.

Using every part of the animal, I learned quickly that shooting was only the beginning of the task, followed by hours (even days) of preserving the meat, feathers or hide.

In between hunting days with my Dad and Grandfather, I’d practice my accuracy with archery and began competitive shooting by the age of nine. My years in the Boy Scouts provided me with a range of skills for outdoor preparedness and paved the way of my achievement of Eagle Scout. I was a part of Civil Air Patrol, a search and rescue auxiliary of the Air Force for teenagers.

It wasn’t until I went to the New Hampton School that I learned a new way to engage with my natural surroundings. Photography was offered as a part of the exemplary arts program at this private high school. I was fortunate to find mentor who taught me to see nature in a new way altogether - through the lens of a camera.

Over the course of four years, I developed the ability to compose and capture moments in time. The beauty of this process came to life for me in developing the images. This love of photography led me to further my studies at San Francisco Art Institute.

Through photography, I honed my skills of patience and precision which I had learned while hunting, fishing, shooting archery and chopping wood as a child.

I’ve spent my adult years in Southern California, raising my three children in a different environment altogether. Since 2011, The Emerald Village is the place we call home. Located in the countryside of North County San Diego, this unique piece of land has hundreds of trees, a small creek running through, and is abutted by a hillside of environmentally protected land.

It is my honor to invite you to my home to share my love of nature with you.