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a little bit About Me

I was born in North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in the ‘summer of 1969’. Seriously, I was. Growing up, I wouldn’t say I had a passion for photography, or a passion for the great outdoors, but I never really thought much about that kind of stuff then. I enjoyed taking pictures with various automatic film cameras, but I never had a desire to pursue photography. I grew up in a small town, I wouldn’t say rural, but definitely not huge. Our family also traveled a lot and had a cabin in the woods ‘up north’ where I guess I fell in love with nature. Again, I never put much thought into that kind of stuff. We were just always outside.

In 1999, I moved to Homestead, Florida, in southern Miami-Dade County. Digital cameras were becoming more prevalent. Around 2006 I 'borrowed' a point and shoot for a Labor Day weekend picnic. Little did I know that this would change my whole outlook on photography, and well, everything.

As I drove home that Friday evening, the most beautiful sunset was happening in front of me. I pulled over to take a picture on the entrance ramp to the freeway and nearly got clipped by a passing car. When I looked at what I had captured I said to myself, "oh yeah, that was worth it!" Right there, I fell in love with landscape photography. Later that year, I bought a point & shoot camera of my own; a Nikon Coolpix. I loved it!

In 2010, my desire to capture quality images surpassed the limits of my camera. Visiting the Shark Valley area of the Everglades one afternoon, on a covered tram ride with my parents, a bird took flight and I tried desperately to get a shot of it flying away. My point & shoot stalled due to the low light, and I got nothing, I was so frustrated! Another tourist across from me had one of those 'fancy cameras' and rattled off shots like a machine gun. I don’t remember the brand, but it was a (very expensive) DSLR. And oh yes I wanted one. 

I realized then that I couldn't afford anything remotely brand new. That next spring 2011, my boyfriend’s coworker was selling a used beginner model; an Olympus E500 for the bargain basement price of $200, so I bought it. I had NO idea how to use it, but I played with it until I realized it wasn't going to be easy. I went to seminars, local camera store classes, bought books, even enrolled in a beginner digital photography class at Miami Dade College. That was a joke. The teacher had no interest in teaching us the basics of exposure and how to use the camera. So I bailed after 3 classes, not knowing or understanding exposure or camera settings. For the next few years I gave it very little attention. I occasionally would pull the camera out for a bit, but nothing I did helped my ability or understanding of how it worked.

In 2015, my boyfriend sent me an announcement for a local festival. At the festival would be a newly formed camera club. But not just any camera club, a South Florida National Parks Camera Club! That sounded right up my alley. My first event with the club was a starry skies workshop in the Everglades. Oh, I was so excited! The instructor was so patient and helpful. She tried, but my photos were horrible. But I didn’t care. I really enjoyed being out in the Everglades with like-minded people. The next few months I researched cameras extensively all while learning all the basics on my POS; not from a classroom, but by actually DOING it with the occasional guidance from folks in the club. By December I had enough of my Olympus. I finally bit the bullet and purchased my first new DSLR, a brand-new Nikon D7100 with 2 kit lenses, a few days before Christmas of 2015. Merry Christmas to me!  

After my first time using the D7100, and seeing just how much better it was than my POS, my confidence rose, the quality of my images skyrocketed, and my photography outings were becoming consistent. I was out in the Everglades almost every weekend. 2016 was THE year for me to blossom. Soon I would be submitting images for local shows, and entering a few photo contests, and even joined another camera club. I was bound and determined to excel. Which finally led me to creating this website. As my exposure grew, people wanted to see my photos and Facebook just seemed an inappropriate show place. I decided to start a website and showcase some of my better images. 

Now a few years later, I can no longer call myself a novice. I’ve added a few new cameras to my arsenal, along with a bunch of new lenses, upgraded tripods, and multiple sets of filters. I’ve found the wonders of podcasts, YouTubes, and even Instagram, and continue to learn and improve. I’ve taken trips to some exotic places I’ve never been before, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Vancouver Island, Tennessee, all over Florida. When I go home to visit family, I look at the landscape very differently now. What was once a dull and dreary midwestern area now looks much more enticing through the lens of my camera. I even shot barns and corn stalks!

Through social media, I’ve found and been influenced by many wonderful nature photographers from around the world. And now I’m finding that the images I took, or wanted to take a few years ago, aren’t necessarily the same as I do now. Those beautifully composed and ultra colorful iconic photos that everyone takes, they don’t really interest me anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still photograph the grandest of Grand Canyons, or the pointiest of the Rocky Mountains, and I’m still a sucker for those nuclear peachy/pink sunset skies; but those are the exceptions. I look for subjects in areas that aren’t on the ‘must see’ list, and in conditions that not a lot of people would enjoy. That’s where the good stuff is; somewhere between here and heaven.

So sit back, scroll through the gallery pages, and enjoy!