The following was taken from a question and answer session regarding my work as elite member of the "Distinguished Photographer Corps" of the American Battlefield Trust. I hope that this provides some insight into who I am and what motivates me.

Enjoy:

I am 58 years old and have been married for 31 years to my best friend, Traci. Together we have three grown children and two grandchildren. Professionally, I am a Senior Project Manager for The Home Depot based in Atlanta, GA and as such, travel throughout the southeast regularly. I have been taking pictures as a hobby for as long as I can remember.

I did not have that “ah-hah” moment when I first realized I wanted to be a photographer. I only remember saving for months for my first 35mm when I was 15 years old. I blew through film as though I was shooting digital, so there were many rolls that never saw the darkroom. My first real training came from a high school teacher in my first photography class. That first class taught me patience and the importance of allowing the picture to tell the story…..lessons I try to remember to this day. 

I learned in 2014 that a long-time friend was the Creative Director for Hallowed Ground Magazine, a publication for the Civil War Trust. I was in need of a creative challenge, have always had a keen interest in history, and offered to shoot for the magazine. Because this midwesterner now calls himself a southerner, immersed in the Civil War hauntings of Atlanta, it was a perfect match.  Since then, I have been traveling the Southeast in search of the next picture that will capture the stories that unfolded the many months between 1861 and 1865 as well as Revolutionary War sites. 

I had an instructor in college who challenged us to shoot macro all in black and white and at either dawn or dusk (now referred to as the Golden Hour). I took days and went through roll after roll of 35mm film. I still have some of these images, and they serve to remind me to work with available light, look for another vantage point or perspective, and more than anything, be patient enough to allow   the photograph to evolve.

After my first assignment, I knew I was hooked on battlefield photography. It was early in the morning, and there was a low hanging fog covering the ground; it was eerily quiet. I realized on this historical land a major battle had taken place, and hundreds of soldiers were either killed or wounded fighting for what they believed to be true and just. Standing on this hallowed ground, I connected with the souls that fought and died there. I have relished capturing those images…those moments in our shared history….ever since. 

The best advice I can give to budding photographers is to first know your equipment and its capabilities. There are many variables to the perfect shot (setting, lighting, composition, golden hour, rule of thirds, the bokeh effect, it goes on and on and on), but if you are battling with your gear, asking more than it has to give, then you will always struggle with getting the shot that you see in your mind’s eye. Photography is art which requires patience, so understand that you may need to revisit your subject and your method again and again in order to capture that perfect shot….the one you see with naked eyes before you even pick up your camera. Best of luck.