About Me:
I grew up splitting my time between Bozeman, MT, the family cabin in the Gallatin Canyon, and Yellowstone Park. I have always felt a connection with the outdoors. My family would move to our small cabin during my younger years and we would stay there Memorial Day to Labor Day. Mom and Dad would make sure we were up early and out the door hiking, fishing, floating on Taylor Fork or the Gallatin River, or riding horses. It was such a great way to grow up.
These early days in the mountains of southwest Montana set me up to appreciate all the things that nature could provide; Big sweeping vistas, to the small lichen covered rocks that held my fascination with their intricate designs and geologic histories.
In fifth grade I asked for a camera to start recording my outings. Of course Dad always liked me to understand the science behind everything I did, bought me a "build your own" camera kit, and we built it together. That way I could learn hands-on the internal structure of a camera, the physics of the optics, and the art of f-stops and shutter speeds. This camera was as manual as you could get.
As my interest in photography grew, I recieved a Minolta 110 camera. What a step up! It even had a built in flash. But eventually I longed for an SLR. Begging and pleading through late middle school and early high school, finally my parents invested in my love and bought me a Minolta XE-7. It was a gift that gave, and gave, and gave until the film advance finally wore out. Thousands of amazing photographs came out of that camera, or at least to me they were amazing.
Then grad school came about and my photography got put on the back burner. Then life started to happen. Jobs, jobs, work, finally settling down into the teaching profession where I stayed for 31 years. During this time I met the love of my life, Lori, and we raised three lovely kids, two now in college. During the "kid chapter" I invested in my first medium format Mamiya 645, and built a darkroom for myself. Loved getting my hands dirty again, but as I got more invested in my children, I had less time for analog flim. Therefore made the jump into digital and have loved it ever since.
Now I have finally retired from teaching and have time to stroll around the woods again with my camera looking for those patterns and vistas I so passionately want to capture and share with others.
In addition to my interest in nature, I am developing an understanding of helping others capture their moments in time; Seniors, Babies, Families, Weddings, Homes, and other facets of life that deserve a place in memories that can be revived and cherished through the art of photography.
If you made it this far, thanks so much for investing the time to find out a little about me. I hope that you will revisit my site from time to time to see any new work that captures your inner child, your inner artist, or your inner time traveler.
If you are so inclined, share my address with others you think will enjoy my work.
-Paul