Riding, ranching and art direction
I was born in Rapid City, South Dakota. My father and grandfather wrangled horses, tourists and children on our dude ranch, and my father gave me my first camera when I was 7. He showed me how to use the Brownie, gave me a roll of film, and told me to bring it back when I was done exposing the negative. I went through a number of hand-me-down cameras -- an old Voigtlander, an Argus C3, a Mamiya and others, before I finally got a decent SLR after college.
My degree is in Visual Communication. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin, and went to work for a friend of my Dad's who taught me the ropes in advertising. He also taught me how to visualize and how to think about lighting. Much of the scientific method I take for granted now I learned from Hugh Lambert. I worked for several ad agencies over the next thirty years, moving up from junior art director, to Creative Director, to Managing Director of the Chicago office of a national interactive marketing services company. In between, I met my wife, got married, and partnered up with some old friends in Chicago and kept shooting Out West.
After leaving the Windy City, I moved back to Michigan, and began pursuing my dream of shooting full-time. I purchased my first digital SLR, my first pigment printer, and then my second printer. And my third. I did my first show, in Muskegon in 2005, and won my first award check. That was sweet. I went through a couple of trailers, and put a lot of miles on my Jeep.
So there you have it. The capsule version of my life. If you're interested in my resume, I'd be happy to send you a copy, but it's a lot more boring than the stories from the road.