When I was 14, my mother gave me my first camera. This Canon AE-1 still to this day, is my most beloved camera in my entire outfit. I look back and I realize that my mother was trying to get me into something creative that didn’t involve sitting at the park smoking cigarettes and carving my initials into park benches. This camera, literally, was the one thing that kept me from dropping out of high school. As a 14 year old non conformist self proclaimed “anti”, I would have rather emulated the journeys of Jack Kerouac, or followed the circus like Diane Arbus, or even changed my name to something Swahili and moved to Kenya; instead of attending high school. Well, I couldn’t avoid high school, my job at the dry cleaners, or a curfew.

Before my discovery of silver gelatin, my mother would have to pull all of the sheets and blankets off of the bed, sometimes turning the mattress upside down, before I would get up to go to school. I had always been creative, but nothing compared to the feeling I got when I developed my first roll of black and white film. The only thing that could possibly beat this feeling was the rush I got when pursuing stories and documenting people. There was nothing that would keep me out of the high school darkroom; not even a broken leg, crutches and a fix covered floor; True story.

Telling stories with my camera or documenting people became my passion. I never thought twice to tell the stories of those people that society had cast away. Regardless of the flack I got from my mother because many of my stories lacked a “happy ending”, I continued on. After 4 years of education at The Corcoran College of Art and Design, or as I like to call it, “ Art SKool”, I have landed here. Working in the field of photography and graphic design to feed myself and fund the stories I want to tell. I have grown a lot through out my young adult life and I continue to be open minded and aspire to do more.

Currently, I have plans of combining my love of photography with my love of animals and conservation. Perhaps I will lead myself to a degree in marine science, zoology, or herpetology. I have been very passionate about animal rescue, and care for as many as 20 reptiles. I occasionally breed leopard geckos in my spare time as a way of learning and increasing my collection. I also enjoy photographing my animals and the animals of friends. When I am not taking pictures I am usually for the most part sleeping. My days are filled with camera and computer use, and after a day of running around, all I want to do is sleep. If I can muster up the energy on a weekend, I like to kayak, hike, and camp, take road trips, grill and cook, read, and spend time caring for my animals.

I enjoy meeting people. Diversity is the fruit of life, and I like to experience it all.