A lifelong fascination with capturing the moment

​My interest in photography started when I was about 10 years old, when my dad let me use his Ansco 2 camera. I remember looking through the rangefinder and discovering parallax—the difference between what the viewfinder showed and what the lens actually captured.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I was already fascinated by what happened between seeing something and making a photograph of it.

In my 20s, I started taking photography more seriously. I began photographing weddings on film for friends and family, and the positive feedback I received encouraged me to keep developing my craft.

Today, I’m drawn to two very different kinds of photography: the silence and stillness of nature, and the energy of dance and live music.

They may seem like opposites, but for me they have something important in common.

I’m always trying to anticipate what is about to happen and position my camera where I can capture it. With people, I’m looking for something spontaneous—a gesture, an expression, or a fleeting moment that reveals something real about them.

With nature, I’m looking for something that was always there but perhaps only reveals itself for a moment: the right light, a reflection, a changing sky, or the quiet relationship between the landscape and everything around it.

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Whether I’m photographing a person, a performance, or a Minnesota landscape, I want the photograph to do more than simply show what was there.

I want you to feel like you’re there.

I want you to experience the feeling of the moment—the stillness, the energy, the emotion—and become invested in what you’re seeing.

A photograph can stop time, but the best photographs can also make you feel like you’re stepping back into that moment.

That’s what I’m always looking for.