In the summer of 1999 I traveled to Europe. I met a film editor living in Paris who exposed me to the inner workings of documentary filmmaking and the world of French documentary still photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau. I immediately became enamored with street photography and the idea of the “decisive moment”.
In 2000, I was introduced to the work of Sebastião Salgado through his book Terra. From that moment, I knew my photographic career would never be the same. I realized that the camera is an important tool utilized to document the world and the times in which we live.
In 2006, I attended the VII workshop hosted in Jerusalem. Here I worked independently to produce a photo essay on the shrinking Palestinian Christian population of Israel and the West Bank. I was privileged to work with and learn from Gary Knight and Alexandra Boulat of the VII Agency while attending.
I decided to return to school to complete my undergraduate degree and in the spring of 2011, I received my B.S. in Photojournalism from San Jose State University.
During my time at SJSU, I was mentored by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Kim Komenich. Kim helped me to realize my potential as a filmmaker, and in my last semester at the university, I began to produce a short film documenting the apocalyptic end of the world predicted by Harold Camping.
In the summer of 2010 I was selected for a position as a photography intern at the San Francisco Chronicle. Upon completion of my internship, I began freelancing for the publication.
In the fall of 2010, I was accepted as a student to the 62nd annual Missouri Photo Workshop held in Macon, MO. I was instructed by Randy Olson, freelance photographer for National Geographic Magazine, and former Time Photo Editor MaryAnne Golon.
I am a photographer and filmmaker living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am for hire as a portrait photographer, photojournalist and filmmaker, and I have a valid passport.
My clients include: San Francisco Chronicle, Toledo Blade, James L. & John S. Knight Foundation, Terrain Magazine, Metro Newspapers, Good Old Boat Magazine, Wend Magazine, New Directions, The Registry Magazine and the Richard Nixon Foundation.
