I’ve been involved in creative endeavors throughout my entire life -  first as a professional flutist and then as a writer, with photography as a life-long hobby. I'd always taken photos of family and friends, and of course, on vacations. However, I did this with little actual knowledge of photography and was just shooting for fun. I started becoming seriously interested in photography after traveling to Tanzania in 2012. That was my first experience with wildlife photography, and I found that I loved it. Being able to see animals up close in their natural environment was truly a life changing experience. I went back to Africa in 2015, but this time to South Africa. After that, I was really hooked on photography and started taking photo workshops in 2016 from various pros in order to improve my skills in landscape, wildlife, bird, & macro photography. I rapidly gained these skills. However, it wasn't until I took a course in early 2017 on the Art of Photography that I truly understood how to take creative photographs in all categories, including landscape. Since implementing what I learned in that course, I have been honored to win awards in Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards; Nature’s Best National Parks; Audubon; National Wildlife Federation; Nature Photographer of the Year; Bird Photographer of the Year; Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Big Picture Natural World; Siena Photography Awards, Birdwatching; North American Nature Photographers Association Showcase; & Share the View. One of my images won Best in Show for the Arizona Water Resources Research Center Photography Competition in 2021. I have been fortunate enough to also win awards in competitions sponsored by the PebbleCreek Art Club, Phoenix Camera Club, Arizona Camera Club Council, Photographic Society of America, and Camera Club of Laguna Woods Village.