Early Beginnings

I’ve been taking pictures avidly since before the age of 12. That's when a family friend helped me pick out a range finder 35mm camera from a pawn shop. I wore that camera almost all the time taking pictures for the junior high school newspaper and then for the newspaper and yearbook throughout high school. In high school I won Quill and Scroll national honors for published photo stories in our school newspaper. Much of my work then was black and white and I did all of my own film and print processing making a bathroom in our home into a darkroom on a regular basis. Many hours were spent learning and exploring all aspects of the photographic creative process.

My nephew who is almost finished with his college education & a group of students that I worked with in campus ministry.

People as Subjects

People have always been my favorite subjects. I enjoy capturing natural candid moments and have learned to create natural looking environmental portraits which lead me into part-time wedding photography.

After college I worked part time as a wedding photographer for about 3 years. Married and expecting our first child I decided it was just too much to have a full time career and all of my weekends booked with wedding photography. Wedding photography tends to be a bit high on the stress levels too, so I sold my wedding photography equipment and closed down my business to spend more time with my expanding family. I now have three wonderful children, my daughter Sarah and two boys Jordan and Evan.

Evan shortly after birth in hospital bed with Patty. Patty and I with our kids (starting left) Evan, Sarah, and Jordan.

The Beginning of Equestrian Sport Photography

I’ve always loved horses and my wife Patty has had horses since she was in high school. She’s given me many years of opportunities to capture the relationship of horse and rider.

Equestrian portraits of Patty with Aspen from the 1980s.

Over the past several years my daughter Sarah and Patty, my wife, have enjoyed Endurance Riding.

Patty & Sarah at the Chicken Chase Endurance Ride complete 25 or 50 miles in just one day. Patty would like to complete a 100 mile ride in the future.

The excitement of capturing these events on film has catapulted me back into the photography business, but this time with an emphasis on equestrian sports and equine photography. Although I do portraits of people and portraits of horses, I think the most challenging photography is capturing people with their beloved animals in such a way as to show the relationship they share.

Equestrian Sport Photography Today

Now I enjoy shooting horse shows, endurance rides, portraits of horses and portraits of horses with their owners. The challenge of capturing the right moment in time to show beautiful horses, relationships of owners and their horses, the joys, and the excitement of horse sports is very rewarding to me. I am an active member of the Equine Photographer's Network which allows me to learn more each day from the very best equine photographers in the country. I was also spotlighted in a recent issue of the Equine Photographer's Network internet newsletter. To see the spotlight, just click on this link and scroll down to my picture:

http://www.equinephotographers.net/newsletter

Published Work

My Endurance photography has been published in Endurance News Magazine with cover shots as well as full color and black and white photos and articles about various rides that I’ve been able to cover while participating in this sport (as a spectator) with my family. Working with some of the writers, my photography has also been used to illustrate articles about subjects of concern within the sport. My byline photos have also been published in Endurance World Magazine with its world wide distribution promoting and covering endurance riding worldwide. (See my portfolio pages)

Editorial & Advertising Photography

Although I enjoy photographing people and horses, I also have a full time career in advertising sales. I use my photography skills on a regular basis for advertising and editorial photography in my work with pictures and covers in Dayton and Cincinnati editions of Housetrends Magazine & REACH Magazine.