I grew up around trees and dirt and sticks and mud and flowing creeks and farmer’s fields near my rural Michigan home. My early years imprinted something in me that still infuses my photography today. A love of grit and texture, weathered wood, and exploration. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.
When I was 21, I bought a 35mm camera from a friend who was getting rid of it. After my third roll of film, I was totally hooked. Buying that camera on a whim was a simple decision that completely changed my life. I did street photography in London, Athens, New York, Detroit, and Chicago, and eventually started doing newspaper work, back when gritty black and white was still the norm.
Except for a few stints as a bartender, photography has been my entire career and my enduring passion. Photography is as magical today as it was the day I saw my first print mysteriously appear in a darkroom tray. Photography is something I couldn’t stop doing, even if I wanted to. It is my notebook of life, my way of connecting with and making sense of the world around me. It’s complicated. I don’t completely understand photography’s complete grip on me, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
