About Me

I don’t know why you’re on this page instead of looking at my photos, but I guess I’ll write way more than anyone will ever read. If you’d only like to know more about my professional or educational background, check out my LinkedIn. If you’re interested in things like what photography gear I use, what kind of image editing I do, etc. then check out the FAQ.

This is a more personal story about how I came to be interested in photography and programming

My love for programming and photography both developed out of an interest in 3D Computer Graphics. When I was 10 years old, my mom arranged for me to go over and meet my next door neighbor Allen, co-creator of Lightwave 3D. I thought what he did was so freaking cool, and I tried to pick up the software, but it was too complicated for me. I started on an easier application, called Bryce 3D, which actually was designed more towards simplistic 3D landscapes (hence the name, after Bryce Canyon). From there I went to more complicated software, eventually using Maya when they made a free version available for non-professionals.

So by the time I was maybe 13 or 14, I was technically pretty capable at 3D graphics, but even though I could make realistic CG imagery, I was lacking creatively and artistically. And I had no idea how to develop that artistic ability.

At the same time, I was pursuing programming more and more since being introduced to Allen, and after taking and loving Computer Science (CS) in high school, I decided to make that my career. I loved programming and CS, and I later worked with Allen at his new company, Luxology, on a 3D application called Modo. One of the most gratifying things about that job was the joy of seeing the art that people would create, using the features I was developing.

But before that, in Spring 2010, I spent a semester studying in Prague. For the preceding Christmas, my parents bought me my first dSLR, a Nikon d3000. I loved photographing Prague, in my opinion one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as well as other places in Europe I was able to visit during that semester. I also loved processing my photos, already familiar with Photoshop from my work in Computer Graphics. I kept up with travel photography for a couple years, but slowly waned, in part due to the size of a DSLR! I just thought it was so inconvenient to bring on so many trips.

My passion for photography was rekindled in 2015, for two reasons. First, my parents gave me a Sony a6000 for my birthday, a much smaller mirrorless camera that was much easier to take on trips. And second, we visited the Swiss Alps during peak wildflower season, which really was my first exposure (no pun intended) to mountain photography. The following year, my girlfriend and I did a trip to Iceland and my interest in photograph grew, especially as I had opportunities to photograph the midnight setting sun.

After those two trips, I was posting some on 500px.com, which is where I saw Max Rive’s photograph entitled “Somewhere Only We Know”, of South Greenland. Although both Iceland and the Swiss Alps are incredibly beautiful, I mostly stayed on the beaten path. But here Max was, standing above the most beautiful landscape I had ever seen in a photograph, with no signs of civilization, in a country that no one I knew had ever visited. My perspective on the world, and on landscape photography, was changed.

Max announced his 2017 Greenland tour, which involved 7 days of wilderness camping and off-trail hiking, and I signed up, although I had never done even on-trail backpacking! That tour was one of the best experiences of my life, and it reinforced my desire to seek out the beautiful, less accessible places of the world, which is a journey I’ve just barely started on. The purpose of my photography has become to inspire people the way Max inspired me: to seek out the wilderness and lesser-known beauty in the world.

Later in 2017, wilderness photographer Marc Adamus, for some reason, agreed to let me join him the following year on a 7-day backpacking tour to the Yukon… in October, in freezing temperatures. That trip, similar to Greenland, was way outside my comfort zone, and it was an incredible and unforgettable experience. Between that and a second tour this past December, I have learned so much from Marc, not just about photography but also about hiking and wilderness exploration.

During all this time, I have become no less excited about programming, which I find to be deeply satisfying and enjoyably challenging as a career. I’m currently taking time off professionally, but contrary to many people’s assumptions, traveling and photography are not the main reasons. My biggest goal is to further develop my knowledge in Computer Science and programming.