My journey into photography, like many of life's most rewarding experiences, unfolded in unexpected ways. Growing up in Nebraska, I was deeply influenced by my mother, an elementary school teacher whose passions for teaching, art, and photography ignited my own. The expansive prairie landscapes, the ever-shifting drama of the weather, and witnessing life's full spectrum instilled in me a visual sensibility and a spiritual awareness that persists to this day.

While my formal education led me to a communications degree in preparation for teaching, a pivotal summer in 1970 spent as a field assistant in southern Utah with a geologist who was also a philosopher, photographer, and artist, profoundly shaped my artistic sensibilities. The visual tapestry of rolling grasslands gave way to snow-capped mountains, the stark beauty and captivating light of the deserts, the spiritual presence of the Anasazi, and the dramatic grandeur of the canyons made me ever more aware of the beauty that surrounds us. It was during this transformative summer that I created and sold my very first photographs.

I attended the Brooks Institute in the mid-1970s, an institution renowned for its unwavering commitment to uncompromising image quality and then considered to be the best photography school in the world. This dedication to quality became the cornerstone of my professional career, which has included collaborations with a diverse range of national and international clients, such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, US Air, New York Port Authority, Fairmont Hotels, Lear Crop, Delta Faucets, Formica Corp, Wood Mode Custom Cabinets, Wine Spectator, Architectural Digest, Robb Report, Cakebread Cellars, Merry Edwards Wines, and Chalk Hill Estates. In my work with account executives, art directors, and designers, my role was to attentively listen to their vision and translate it into tangible reality. The skills of listening and working to understand another’s vision are skills I continue to apply in my work with my students today.