About
Guilty Pleasure:
Call Me Maybe
Favorite Music:
ANYthing upbeat
Adult Lifetime W2's:
1
Daughter's Middle Name:
N/A
Weight:
65.5 Kg
Irrational Love:
The Metric System
Food:
Vegetarian for the environment
Greatest Fear:
Losing Compassion
Who am I? How did I get here?
I'm a photographer, raised in the suburbs of Detroit. A full ride scholarship to Wayne State was motivational, but in reality it was meeting a musician by the name of Shadow Klan on the street during my visit to the school that really finalized the choice. He free-styled his sales pitch to me to buy his album. I asked a few questions in usual spoken prose, and he responded exclusively in rhyme. Impressed, I bought his album, and I never wanted to leave the city.
Professional Beginnings
After graduating Summa Cum Laude with an Honors BFA concentrating in Photography and Graphic Design, I was lucky to begin assisting in commercial automotive photography, since it was 2008 and the advertising world was falling apart. It was here that I learned about precise camera angles, lensing, and lighting challenging surfaces and textures, as well as advanced digital compositing techniques. It turns out, these concerns translate very directly to architecture and interior photography.
Why Photography
I'm attracted to photography because it can be anything. It can be wandering world travel or rooted and stationary. It can be tight and technical or free and expressive. It can mean building elaborate sets, carpentry, woodwork, welding or shooting things as they are. It can be kinetic or still. It can be extroverted and collaborative or it can be solitary and contemplative. Regardless, it's always about creative problem solving and always a new challenge.
A focus on Architecture
Architectural photography is everything that I am. Seeing and interpreting the the space is the foundation. It starts with being inquisitive and asking, 'how does it make me feel'? and 'why'? Then it's followed by ultra-precise positioning of the camera. A thorough collection of light, both ambient and artificial, to ensure volumes, selections and materials represent themselves photographically, as they are experienced in physicality. Finally, these collected data are merged digitally for a final product.
Detroit/ Architecture /Vision
I spent several years looking for and dreaming about a live/work studio. Detroit was filled with disused buildings that encouraged the mind to soar and dream about what could be. A city filled with possibility. A creative vision, a broad physical skillset from art school, and an education from a tinkering engineer father, all coalesced to allow me to take on a project of vast scale. In bits and over time, we're building a studio and home in a former city of Detroit firehouse. This too is photography in a broad sense.
Collaborate with me
On set, I'm with you. We'll be shooting directly to a computer so we can view the images both individually as they're being shot, and collectively to ensure that the story that needs telling, is being told. We'll make sure the angles are precise and true, that the chairs are straight and the accessories are right. Most importantly we'll make sure the vibe is on, and the viewer can't help but think, 'that's a room I want to be in.'
Proud Member of AIAP
Proud Member of BRAG Ann Arbor