I attribute my start in photography to my parents who were both adamant about travel. My sisters and I spent every summer growing up touring national parks, lakes, and visiting our widespread family. I also attribute my inclination to travel and nature photography to my childhood excursions.

I will forever love quiet walks on nature trails or dark streets at night when I can really take my time, zone out and look for the little weird things that I find fascinating. That is my go-to. However, live shows (concerts/ festivals) will probably forever be my favorite. The energy is incredibly, everyone is so excited and focused on the music, a camera pointed at them means nothing. Plus the lighting is bar none; it always makes for a unique shot.

Because photography is not my primary career, I don’t feel as much pressure to put myself out there and really push myself on others on social media. If I’m happy with recent work that I have done, then I will share it. I don’t feel the urgency to constantly post to bring in more business. Photography for me is more like therapy. It keeps me sane outside of my career and daily life. Going on country road walks, to music shows or exploring new cities, I’ve always felt more at ease with my camera in my hand or in front of my face, like a comfort blanket. The focus I have while sorting and editing photos is my meditation that temporarily distracts from the other events in my life. I also run the social media pages for the restaurant where I work as a full time baker/ pastry chef, which is great for me. Pausing during production to take or post a photo would be my equivalent to calming and resetting during a smoke break.