My passion for photography began in when my father handed down his camera to me. He was usually the one who took the pictures on all the vacations, and most of my baby pictures too. Our albums are full of photographs of my family and all those significant and mundane times in our lives. The albums and pictures on the wall tell a story of our lives. Interestingly, it is mostly told through his eyes. When I finally got his camera ... the same camera he had photographed my mother with when they were just dating ... the same camera that essentially documented our lives ... I was obviously excited.

I snapped pictures with barely a clue as to what I was doing. Of course, my father showed me how to use it, but it is not like I really understood him. It wasn't until my first photography class that I finally understood what he was talking about. During that semester my excitement exploded into an addiction (a good one). From that point forward, a camera was glued to my face.

The 'fire' I had wasn't because I learned how to use my camera, but that now I could make my own memories. Having the ability to describe the world I see and revisit it in a new and creative way, art, drove me to see differently. This gave me a desire to photograph the ordinary, but with my own approach: how I saw it. This photographing of life's happenings: parties, school, friends, family, and even breakfast, revealed to me to the significance of the ordinary events in our lives.

They're not so ordinary.

Years later, you'd might expect the 'addiction', that barely explicable passion, to fade somewhat ... It has only gotten worse. Now, I not only enjoy making my own memories, but I enjoy making them for others. I want to do for others what my father did for me: tell a story, provoke memories, create. Combining technical skills, artistry, tradition, and passion drives me to make photographs that make those memories a tangible treasure.