I didn’t always know that I would become a photographer. But looking back, the path was always there in front of me… Quietly winding through the mangroves of South Florida, across fog covered lakes in Tennessee, and beneath the bears eating in the trees.
I grew up in the heart of the Everglades, where the wild felt both dangerous and deeply familiar. My childhood was filled with long days fishing with my dad, and camping trips with my parents. We didn’t need a schedule, we just did it, and it always seemed to be parallel with the land and water. Back then, I didn’t carry a camera. I carried the memories.
As the years passed, I began to notice the changes around me. Places that once thrived with wildlife grew quieter. The waters ran differently, and trees just seemed thinner. The natural world around me, which something that I had always taken for granted started to slip away. I felt the urge to try holding onto it as long as possible, and I felt by memory, it could only do so much. This is when photography had found me.
It started just as a curiosity. I picked up a camera and began exploring the forests, wetlands, and foggy morning valleys. Not just to document what I saw, but to feel it again, freezing these moments that remind us what we’re losing, and what still worth fighting for.
What began as my personal escape slowly transformed into a calling over the years. I feel photography has given me the voice I didn’t know that I had. It allows me to share not just pictures, but the perspectives on beauty, on conservation, and the everyday magic that lives beyond the trailhead that we often overlook.
Now located in Smithville Tennessee, I find myself more inspired than ever. The rolling hills, creeks, wildlife, national forests, and Smoky Mountains all within a few minutes to hours of a drive all have a story of their own, that I’m grateful for sharing. Whether I’m shooting on a kayak at dawn, or hiking along remote ridges at golden hour, every single click brings me closer to what matters to me.
Photography is more than a passion. It’s my purpose. It’s how I’m able to pay tribute to the places and wildlife that raised me, and how I hope to protect them.
