What made you want to become a photographer?
I never really wanted to be a photographer, I sort of fell into it by wanting to buy a drone. I knew that I could make a few bucks to pay for the drone by shooting some real estate. Within a few weeks, I had the drone paid off and fell in love with taking pictures of more than just real estate.
How and why are you using Lume Cubes in your work?
Probably my favorite thing to use Lume Cubes for is when they are mounted on my drone and I am light painting. I also love their durability as I like to use them in the water when I take pictures with my handheld camera.
What’s your favorite photo you’ve taken and why?
I took a photo of the Mackinac Bridge (famous bridge in Michigan) as the ice was melting away. The ice looks like diamonds and I get so many compliments on the shot.
Who are you inspired by?
Mike Meyers is an excellent photographer from Chicago who is always pushing his drone images to the max!
If you weren’t a photographer? What would you be instead?
Photography is actually my night job, but my day job is an Instructional Technology Consultant. To sum it up, I work with teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms.
If you could only shoot with ONE lens-type for the rest of your life, which would it be? Fisheye, wide-angle, prime, zoom, macro, or a telephoto lens?
I love night photography, and my go-to lens would be the Sony 24mm 1.4. This thing is amazing at night, so I would keep this one in my bag.
What is your favorite type of photography?
I love drone photography. I especially like top-down shots from my drone.
What is your go-to camera?
Sony A7Riii for my handheld and the DJI Mavic 2 Pro for my drone.
Any advice for new photographers?
Get out and shoot. Take a ton of photos. Most photographers go out and shoot hundreds and sometimes thousands of images a day just to find one that is STELLAR!
What is the best part of your day?
When I am exploring the outdoors looking for the best composition.
You have got an awesome family and you travel quite a bit for clients and to new locations, how do you find a photographer/life balance?
I travel with my family! I have a wife and four kids and we all love to camp. Right now I have a gig with the Michigan DNR and State Parks, so we do a lot of camping/work in the summer months. When we camp together, we have a lot of family time, but then when it comes time for me to go shoot, my wife does an amazing job taking care of the kids while I am gone.
If you could photograph anything in the world (person, place, thing, etc), what would it be?
I would love to photograph a lava flow or a volcano exploding.
Describe your photography style in 5 words.
Beautiful landscapes with great composition.
It looks like your photos can be printed on a bunch of different mediums (wood, metal, canvas, etc.), why did you decide to do that?
I am always trying to keep up with the times and printing my photos on different mediums is very popular right now. Not everyone wants canvas, so printing to my clients’ style is the smart thing to do. It’s also about that wow factor. When clients come into my photo gallery, they love to see variety, and most people like the look of my metals.
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