i'm a self-taught photographer, and a lifelong artist.  i almost went to art school, and i've always known that i was meant to do something creative, but i wasn't sure what, exactly.  i've always loved taking pictures, but i truly fell in love with photography when i got my first digital camera for my 21st birthday--a 4mp [the best there was, at the time!] sony s85.  i jumped right in, learning through trial and error, reading up and figuring things out, and just shooting every single day.  i began by photographing theatre productions at my college, rider university.  i took photos of friends, of bands, of flowers and animals.  i could find a photograph in just about anything, and i became a little more smitten each day. 

after college, i discovered the wonderful world of improv comedy and spent many a night at the ucb theatre in new york city, quietly shooting photographs of my favorite funnypeople from the audience.  word of my live show photography spread, and gave me the opportunity to photograph a series of stage adaptations of 80s cult movies, called soundtracks live!, starring many of my comedic idols from the state, saturday night live, and the upright citizens brigade.  it was some of the most fun i've ever had.  i've also had a photo published in time out new york magazine [from the losers lounge series of cabaret shows in the city], and in early 2007, had a photo featured in nationally-distributed promotional postcards and posters for stand-up comedian mike birbiglia's sleepwalk across america tour. 

i've been taking pictures for a long time, but it wasn't until i began working with small children back in 2003 that i realized i had a gift for photographing them.  it began as a project to make the walls of my daycare classroom a little brighter, warmer, and more personal, and with time, practice, a ton of encouragement, and a fancy new digital slr [my beloved canon 30d], it grew into this. 

the most precious thing to me is when a parent tells me that i've really captured the essence of their child--that somehow, i've managed to put down on paper exactly what they see when they look at their child.  that's how i know i'm doing something right.