Growing up, I was always about cameras or being photographed/video taped. Something about it just sparked my interest and I would aimlessly wander about the house taking pictures of flowers, the cats, or anything else that I thought would make an interesting subject. The truth was that I loved cameras and I strongly believe that this whole affection was the precursor to my lifelong journey as a photographer.
I first started getting extremely interested in photography when I was twelve years old. I had taken a series of three amazing black and white sunset photographs from the deck of my family's vacation home in Longboat Key, Florida. This was my inspiration to pursue my dream.
My first Warped Tour was in 2001 in Indianapolis. I had so much fun that I bought tickets for Tampa and Detroit. Along the way I became pals with the band Madcap... just from visiting their merch booth each time I went to the show. In the fall of that year, they were taken out on tour with the Bouncing Souls on their True Believers Tour. They weren't coming through my home town, but they were going to be in Chicago the night I was there with my family. I got a hold of Madcap and ended up taking my camera along for the trip. Well it turned out that my photos from that show turned out quite well for a beginner, and thats when I became hooked.
The following weekend, in Indy, one of my all time favorite bands, the Suicide Machines, was playing at the Emerson Theater with Bigwig and some other awesome bands. I had recently purchased a brand new Nikon N65. Walking out the door, I turned around and looked at my camera... went back and grabbed it, and said "I'm going to make it happen." I walked up to the door and asked to talk to the tour manager. Tony rocked and he let me talk to the bands and get photos of them. Thats pretty much how my attitude has stayed throughout all of this. If there's a will, there's a way!
My pal Papillon from the Bouncing Souls convinced me to go to college and pursue this dream of mine. So here I am, at the Herron School of Art and Design. My career goal is to support my love for black and white photography with the creation and development of band documentaries and music videos. I'm in this band business for the long run! |
