My introduction to photography began with an interest in astronomy.  At the age of 13, I would sneak out at night with my parent’s Konica 35mm camera and a tripod to take long exposures of the stars. I was amazed at how the camera could capture light invisible to my eyes, and how the static land stayed firm and solid on the horizon as the celestial objects spun their trails around Polaris. My mom was impressed by the detail in my photographs and encouraged my interest.   In the quiet foothills of the beautiful Canadian Rockies, I eventually turned my camera downwards from the heavens to the land and was never short of photographic opportunities, thus my passion for landscape photography took hold.  Photographic film and paper were the only means to capture light at the time, and was a magical process I did in the basement bathroom.  To take a blank sheet of paper, expose it to light, submerge it in developer, and watch with intense anticipation as the shadows, mid-tones, and hi-lights appeared from the nothingness, was astounding to me, and I truly thought I was a 14 year old alchemist!  To capture my favorite haunts on earth to a piece of paper, to view at any time, was one of the reasons I became hooked to photography. When I began taking photography classes in college, I became obsessed with the landscapes of Edward Weston and Ansel Adams.  I was astonished by their meticulous ability to capture line and texture of the natural world, and I strived to emulate their genius in my early prints.   Initially, I photographed trees, clouds, water and other moving subject matter much like Weston and Adams, freezing the movement to an exact frozen and static state.   In time, I returned to the longer exposures I created in my youth.  The blurring and ghosting of subject matter juxtaposes so nicely with the sharp texture in black and white landscapes.  I have always had spiritual sensibilities and have been attracted to the ethereal, so it feels natural to blur subjects in my art to evoke that sensibility. To me the landscape has a soul just as any living thing.  I feel that my most successful attempts at capturing the landscape occur when I capture that essence. For this reason, I like to blur parts of my subject in photos to illuminate the spirit of a place so to speak. Just as the stars blur across the sky in a long exposure giving a sense of movement unperceivable to the human eye, blurred parts of an image portray a greater sense of the spirit of a place; a greater sense of the ethereal and unseen.

Education:

2024    -M.F.A. Candidate,  Maine Media

2003     -B.F.A., Brigham Young University

1998      -Associates in Photography, Ricks College, Idaho

Exhibits and Honors:

2023

"Composing Chaos" Invitational exhibit, Sixth Floor Gallery, Orem, UT

 U.V.U. Faculty Exhibit, Utah Valley Museum of Art At Lakemount, Orem, UT

2021

"Depictions of Divinity" Invitational exhibit, Springville Museum of Fine Art, Springville, UT

 “Spiritual Art of Utah”, Juried Exhibit, Museum of Art Springville, UT

2020
"One Shot / Movement" International Photography Awards,  Online Exhibit

 U. V. U. Faculty Exhibit, Woodbury Museum of Art, Orem, UT

2019     
U. V. U. Faculty Exhibit, Woodbury Museum of Art, Orem, UT

“Spiritual Art of Utah”, Juried Exhibit, Museum of Art Springville, UT

“Enchanted Lands”, 2 Person Exhibit, Hope Museum and Gallery of Fine Art

2018     
U. V. U. Faculty Exhibit, Woodbury Museum of Art, Orem, UT

“Sacred Spaces – Archetypes and Symbols”,  Invitational Group Exhibit, Museum of Art, Springville, UT

“33rd Annual Spiritual & Religious Art””, Juried Exhibit, Museum of Art Springville, UT

2017      
U. V. U. Faculty Exhibit, Woodbury Museum of Art, Orem, UT

“Spring Salon”, Juried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT

“Sacred Spaces – Archetypes and Symbols”, Group Exhibit by Invitation, Museum of Art Springville, UT

2016     
“Spring Salon”, Juried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT

“31st Annual Spiritual & Religious Art of Utah”, Juried Exhibit, Museum of Art Springville, UT

U. V. U. Faculty Exhibit, Woodbury Museum of Art, Orem, UT

2015      
“Spring Salon”, Juried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT

“30th Annual Spiritual & Religious Art of Utah”, Juried Exhibit, Museum of Art Springville, UT

U. V. U. Faculty Exhibit, Woodbury Museum of Art, Orem, UT

2014      
“Spring Salon”, Jurried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Fine Art Springville, UT

“European Landscapes”, Group Exhibit, Hope Gallery, Park City, UT

Group Exhibit U. V. U. Faculty, Woodbury Museum of Art Orem, UT

2013      
“Contemporary Landscapes”, Solo Exhibit, Hope Museum of Fine Art Park City, UT

“Spring Salon”, Jurried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Fine Art Springville, UT

Group Exhibit U. V. U. Faculty, Woodbury Museum of Art Orem, UT

2012      
“Spring Salon”, Jurried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Fine Art Springville, UT

U. V. U. Faculty Exhibit, Woodbury Museum of Art Orem, UT

“Contemporary Utah Landscapes”, Invitational Exhibit, C. D. A. Gallery S.L.C., UT

2011      
“PX3” Prix de la Photographie, Juried Exhibit Paris, France

“Natural to Supernatural”, Group Exhibit, C. D. A. Gallery S.L.C., UT

“Transformed by Light” 4 Person Exhibit, B.F. Larson Gallery Provo, UT

“Best of Utah”, Group Exhibit, Contemporary Design & Art Gallery S.L.C., UT

Faculty Show, Group Exhibit, Woodbury Art Museum Orem, UT

2010      
“Utah Artists”, Group Exhibit, Contemporary Design & Art Gallery S.L.C., UT

“25th Annual Spiritual & Religious Art of Utah”, Juried Exhibit, Museum of Art Springville, UT

2009    
 “Essence of Body”, Juried Exhibit, Contemporary Design & Art Gallery S.L.C., UT

“Modern and Contemporary Exhibit”, Group Exhibit, Hope Museum of Fine Art Park City, UT

“Rise”, U. V. U. Faculty Exhibit, Springville Museum of Art Springville, UT

2008    
 “PERSPECTIVES : UTAH LAKE”, Three Man Show, Covey Center Arts Gallery Provo, UT

“Spring Salon”, Juried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT

“The Ancient Isles”, Solo Exhibit, Hope Gallery & Museum of Fine Art S.L.C., UT

2007      
“International Exhibition of Fine Art Photography”, Jurried Exhibit, Fort Collins, CO Museum of Contemporary Art

“Spring Salon”, Jurried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Art Springville, UT

2006      
“The Spring Salon” Springville Museum of Art, juried group show Springville, UT

2005      
“The Spring Salon” Springville Museum of Art, juried group show Springville, UT

2004      
“The Spring Salon” Springville Museum of Art, juried group show Springville, UT

2003      
“The Altered Landscape”, B.F. Larson Gallery, solo exhibit Provo, UT

“Hallowed Places”, Springville Museum of Art, solo exhibit by invitation Springville, UT

1997      
“Spring Show”, Spori Gallery, juried group exhibit Rexburg, ID

Selected Honors:

2022      -Paul Caponigro Scholarship, Maine Media College

2021      -Honorable Mention,“PX3” Prix de la Photographie, Paris, France

2020      -Two Honorable Mentions, 2020 International Photography Awards One Shot / Movement

2012       -A Directors Award, The Spring Salon, Juried Exhibit, Springville Museum of Art

2011        -Bronze Award, “PX3” Prix de la Photographie, Paris, France

2010       -3rd Place, 25th Annual Spiritual & Religious Art of Utah, Juried Exhibit, Springville Museum of Art

2009      -Two nominations and one honorable mention, “Black and White Spider Awards”, Juried Exhibit

2006      -Award of Merit, The Spring Salon, Juried Exhibit, Springville Museum of Art

2005      -Award of Merit, The Spring Salon, Juried Exhibit, Springville Museum of Art

2004      -Award of Merit, The Spring Salon, Juried Exhibit, Springville Museum of Art

2002      -Mentoring Grant, Brigham Young University

2001       -O.R.C.A. Scholarship, Brigham Young University

1998       -Talent Award, Brigham Young University

1997       -First place and an Award of Merit, Group Show, Juried Exhibit, Spori Gallery

Representation:

Hope Gallery and Museum of Fine Art (hopegallery.com) 

New Vision Art (newvisionart.com)