“It’s not just about my love of wildlife photography … it’s also about finding that important connection with wild nature.”
I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta where my interest in photography began during family vacations to the Alberta Rockies. I remember what a great thrill it was to have purchased a hardcover book on 35mm cameras with my own money at the age of 10. I read that book from cover to cover a dozen times and recall drooling over the photos of cameras I wish I owned.
My mom and dad owned several pocket point and shoot film cameras and I always wanted to be the one to carry them on hikes, fishing trips and pretty much wherever we went in the mountains. I didn’t always get my way however as my parents soon realized they were spending a fortune on film. It wasn’t until my late teens when I actually owned my own Canon 35mm manual SLR camera.
In the early 90′s I met Duane Rosenkranz and he was the photographer that inspired me the most at that time. I was in awe of Duane’s passion for the outdoors and his photographs. I wanted to make pictures like he did and so my passion for wildlife photography really began. I knew back then that photography would always be a huge part of my life.
In 1995, I started getting images used in local conservation and naturalist publications such as Blue Jay, Alberta Naturalist and Alberta Game Warden magazine. It was a thrill to see my images in print and began looking at the images other photographers were selling and taking note of their names. Vincent Munier and Donald M. Jones are photographers that inspire me a great deal.
I am not professionally trained in photography, but rather have learned through trial and error. I use techniques that work for me while in the field and will share what I have learned as a wildlife photographer. I am formally educated in web design, customer service and entrepreneurship and currently work as a production supervisor.
These days I live in Kamloops, B.C and am still learning on my own as camera gear, computers and computer software continue to evolve. I am now able to make photographs that were not even possible with the gear I had 10 years ago. All my 35mm slide images are now filed away and my collection of digital files continues to grow on a weekly basis. In 2009, I began writing a monthly photography column for SPIN news magazine in Sun Peaks, British Columbia. I also contribute gear reviews when I can and continue my quest to market photographs and canvas prints.
To fill my need to support local organizations, I keep images available to the Provincial Bear Aware program, the Grassland Conservation Council and the Nature Conservancy of Canada. With each outing, I am always learning something new about nature. I enjoy learning through experience. There is absolutely nothing like being out there in search of another good nature photo.