Who I am as an artist, what is my particular "style," is as much a product of my experience as well as my philosophy. I started as a photojournalist while serving in the Navy, but expanded my focus to include nature photography while working as a canoe guide in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota.

My experience as a canoe guide brought more than just exposure to wild places and things. I grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so I knew a little about the outdoors. My time in the Boundary Waters also infused in me a philosophy about how to interact with wild places, how to cherish "wildness" as expressed by Thoreau, that I had never before encountered. Inspired by the writings of Sigurd Olson and others, I came to learn and experience anew an ideal of wild places that merged with my photographic philosophy.

Unlike many photographers, I do not specialize in one area of nature photography; I am not just a wildlife photographer or a landscape photographer.  I do this because when I am exploring a location with a camera, I like to capture a holistic sense of place.  You cannot understand the land without appreciate the creatures that inhabit it.  You cannot learn about wildlife without comprehending its habitat.  But being diverse in my subjects requires me to be more creative, too.  I keep my style fresh by not becoming too entrenched in any one subject.  By approaching photography from diverse viewpoints, I often bring techniques and ideas from other disciplines that might not always be expected.

Behind every image I capture, no matter the subject, is a passion and love for photography. I love the feeling of being on location when the first light of day strikes the landscape. But photographing wild places also allows me to share with others a wonder and awe of nature they might not otherwise experience. Capturing the essence of a moment, whether a fleeting moment of golden light on a mountain in the evening or the brief seconds where an adult Arctic tern feeds its chick, allows me to help create and preserve that moment for the future. These are the things that drive me.

I reside with my wife Michelle in Anchorage, Alaska. We share five feline children: Harriet, Bolshe, Menshe, Jynx, and Kobuk.

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