The Long Version

Described by my mom as a bit of a wandering soul throughout high school, I sought out many different experiences as I didn’t have a clear direction for what was waiting for me after graduating. From playing in a local band to living and working at a pub in England, it was a time where I explored as much as possible to try and see what life could offer. In 2001 I was attending a small community college in Texas, trying to keep busy and get some college credits. I decided that I would sign up for a photography course because I had always loved art and it seemed like it would be a fun class. It was just my luck to have a phenomenal teacher in Patricia Richards. I traveled with Patty on one of her programs to Europe where we stayed in a 15th century Villa outside Prato, Italy and in a chateau outside of Paris. I thought that I would come home with a huge portfolio of images of the beautiful people from Europe but when I developed my film, I saw a ton of amazing architecture and urban landscapes. It was then that I began to think maybe there was a career in photography. The following year I attended the travel program with Patty as an assistant. Upon my return, I asked her what was the toughest photography school to get into. She told me about Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California and with her urging, I applied and to my surprise, was accepted. My parents were a bit shocked that I was so intent on attending and within a couple of weeks of interviewing at the school, I made the move to California. The next few years were some of the most rigorous in my development as a photographer. Late nights in the studio working on assignments followed by early morning classes and hours upon hours in the lab developing and printing images. I loved every minute of it. By my third year I had really developed a passion for architectural photography and graduated in 2008. This, as it turned out, was not the best time to begin a career with the state of the economy and the impacts it was having on the A/E/C industry. But we persevered and by 2011 we decided to relocate to Denver. It was an easy choice because I love the outdoors and we both loved the city of Denver. At the time it was starting to really grow and now it seems nearly unrecognizable to when we first arrived. We added a couple of dogs to the family, bought a house, and continued to grow the business. I wouldn’t change anything.