About Me
Hey there! I'm a 30 year old native of a little rural town called Gladys, Va where I spent most of my life. I moved to the beautiful island of Maui in January of 2017 where I met my wife Stacey. We got married in January of 2018 and moved back to VA quickly after. We lived in VA from 2018-2021 when moved back to Maui. I first got into photography in 2013 and instantly found a passion that I had never known before. Being in nature and trying to capture its beauty is the reason I got into photography and will always be what keeps me creating. My faith in Christ is ultimately what I try to let be my blueprint for life and photography. Over the years I have been blessed to do a wide variety of photography including portraits real estate, and commercial work. Besides just taking photos, I very much love being outdoors, hiking, and playing disc golf. Some of the other things I really enjoy in life are creamer with a little coffee mixed in, waterfalls, and most all animals. I know this is just small portion of who I am, and I hope it might make you want to know more. You can click through the questions below to learn a little more about my photography background. But enough about me, I want to get to know you and hear your story!
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I bought my first DSLR camera (Nikon D5200) in the fall of 2013. I was 20 years old starting my junior year of college. I had no background in photography, no family that were photographers, and no friends that were serious about it. To be completely honest, I kind of just bought a camera on a whim. I think what really sparked my interest was my using my friends little Nikon point & shoot camera to take some amatuer photos. It had this issue where every picture would have this black streak in the bottom right corner. I remember thinking to myself, "I can't take good pictures with this thing, I need to get a better camera." And at the time I happen to have some money saved up and decided to spend $700 on something I had no idea would leave the shelf or not. Probably one of the best risks I've ever taken. I thought, like most, that getting a nicer camera would make me a pro...hardly. When I got it I didn't know anything about cameras so I used the auto mode for the first few months at least which is what everyone has to start out doing. And not that you can't take some great photos with auto mode, but I knew there was more to it than that and I wanted to learn. So what does any millenial do?... Go to Youtube. Yes I learned the basics of how a camera works from watching Youtube videos. And after learning a little bit at a time I would go out and practice what I learned. Trial & error and repitition is the best description of how I learned to really use a camera. As I learned more, my photos got better and people started to take notice. Eventually I had friends ask if I would take pictures of them saying they'd be willing to pay, which I was extremely reluctantly about. I felt like I didn't know enough, but I decided to give it try and it's been an amazing journey from there. I have failed a lot and grown a lot and I wouldn't change any of it. I have been blessed to be able to use something I just had a tiny interest in at first as way to live life and make money. I would encourage you to take that step if you have any interest in something even if justs small or you don't think you're in the right season of life, you never know just what might happen :)
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Being familiar with different edit techniques and styles, I tend to edit based on many facters like subject, lightning, setting, etc. My landscapes tend to have more of deep contrast with rich colors, whereas with portraits I try to stick to a subtle timeless look. I also always try to shoot at sunrise and sunset whether it's portraits or landscapes. I love that late golden hour when the light is diffused, but still colorful. Most everything I shoot as of now is with natural light, I personal just like the look of it better than flash.
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Cameras:
Nikon Z6
Nikon D750 (backup)
Lenses:
Sigma Art 50mm f/1.4
Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4
Sigma 150-600m f/5-6.3
Nikkor 16-35mm f/4
Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5 (2015-2019)
Sigma 10-20mm f/4 (2014-2016)
Audio Gear:
Tascam DR10-L Recorder
Zoom H4n Recorder
Filters:
Tide Optics Cine Soft Filter
Hoya Pro1 Digital UV
Tiffen Polarizer
Tripod:
MeFoto Roadtrip
Bags:
F-Stop Gear Tilopa Photo Pack
Editing Software:
Adobe Lightroom (Photos)
Adobe Photoshop (Photos)
Adobe Premiere Pro (Videos)
Adobe After Effects (Videos)