Specializing in portraiture and lifestyle photography, I create photos that visually communicates personalities, brands and ideas. 

BACKGROUND

Born in 1975, I grew up surfing and skateboarding in southern California. I played a lot of team sports, soccer being my favorite.  I listened to a lot of noisy and obscure rock-n-roll.  I used to be a cook; working 10+ years in the restaurant industry. I love looking at Caravaggio’s work, and am constantly in awe of Renaissance artists.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe a photograph has a split-second to make an impact, it should seduce the viewer into surveying the image again and again.  Photos that make an impact are memorable; memorable images provoke action. This is what I think about when pre-visualizing projects.

Quirky human behavior tends to get my attention. Questions ensue which fire up my imagination, the result being ideas for personal projects.  Humor also plays a role. We’re all weird to a certain degree, I feel having a sense of humor about it is important. Add in color, contrast and design, and that’s the recipe for my personal work.

WORK HISTORY

I have a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Communications. I have worked for newspapers, created imagery for local and national brands, and have taught photography at the college level. My pictures have earned awards, hung on gallery walls, and have been featured in esoteric, independent magazines and blogs. Currently I create content for Strategic Communications at Long Beach State University. Click here if you want to review my resume.

INSPIRATION

Guy Bourdin; Richard Avedon; Helmut Newton; Irving Penn; Steven Klein; Annie Leibovitz; Martin Schoeller; Juergen Teller; Martin Parr; Chris Buck; James Nachtway; Chris Hondros; Damon Winter; Sebastião Salgado; Donald Miralle; Alex Prager; Erwin Olaf; David LaChapelle (90s-early 2000s work); Renaissance artists; Caravaggio; David Alfaro Siqueiros; Maurizio Cattelan; Banksy; 90s skateboard art; Stephen King; Hunter S. Thompson; Tom Robbins; Diesel marketing (90s-early 2000s); Thomas Keller; Anthony Bourdain.

I live in Long Beach, CA with Dea and our Blue Heeler “Fig.”