Underwater Introduction

Just after coming home from Africa, my age group diving coach, Paul Breitfeller, called me and asked me to audition for a commercial! I really did not want to do it. After his second call and a little nudging, the situation was explained that they were a little desperate. After already being away for three weeks, it was still a difficult decision to take off from work again. Once the shooting began, my attitude changed and the whole experience was far greater than I could have imagined. I met some really cool people. I met a great underwater photographer, Tim Calver(pictured above), who has been an encouragement in combining my love for water and my love for photography. His work has been an inspiration to start and pursue underwater photography. Tim walked me through buying the right equipment to help me explore a whole new world underwater. Although it has not been my primary focus of photography, every time I get back in the water with my camera I get hooked. I love the challenge of underwater photography and it makes feel like a student again! I am looking forward to growing and gaining more experience in a different and challenging world of photography!

Separate but Connected

Friendship led me to East Africa in 2008, a former roommate of mine spent a year serving at orphanages in Uganda and Sudan. I came to these places to visit a friend and change the environment in which I was so comfortable in. I came home to bring back pictures that would help raise awareness and share my experience with other friends that it might inspire them and others to seek something other than what they currently know. While my visit was only three weeks, the experience has touched my heart deeply and continues to ask me to go back to this day. The journey is difficult, but the experience is priceless. The people I met both young and old continue to tug at my heart to see them again and learn how they are currently doing. The visitors that have gone after me and have stayed an extended period of time remain connected to me through friendship. The changes that I have witnessed in these places in the past three years is a direct confirmation to my faith and the power of relationships in love and compassion. While these are just a few of my favorite pictures; the organization I gave all my photos to is Lahash International, they have maintained a supporting relationship to both places I visited since 2005. To see what has been done most recently at the Orphange in Sudan check out the update on the water project. Through the sponsorship of Horse Tamer Ministry, the most recent update is that the orphanage in Southern Sudan now has running water something that very few places have in this area of the world. As Americans, to understand the significance of that requires some effort because for many of us we have never known an existence without running water. While in this place, they have never known an existence with running water nor has it even been a dream.

Refresh!

Welcome to my new blog! I am hoping to keep up, but I feel as though this blog needs some history! I had an old blog that I will be transferring over the next few weeks for better coverage and as a little history about me and my photography! I hope you enjoy and gain some inspiration or at least some admiration of beauty from the photos and the stories that I will post! I am beginning this blog in-line with the redesign of my website. Feel free to send me an email or leave a message on my facebook page. As time goes by I will be updating each with new photos and stories! Thank you for sharing in a journey through my eyes.