I approach photography with both a traditional and contemporary view, reflecting the shaded area between conventional and modern practices.  My work has evolved from the emotional, intuitive response of looking-- to the intellectual aspect of creating images.  Existing in the space between these processes is where I often find the most poetic images about nature, family and what it is to be living in today’s world.

I was born and raised in Arizona where I developed an appreciation for both the beauty and austerity of the desert and the lush diversity of nature. My artistic and personal curiosities have led me throughout the U.S., Mexico, South America and Europe but always, I return to the American West, and find the expansive and diverse scenery to be home. At an early age, the works of Edward Curtis, Timothy O’Sullivan, Edward Weston, Carleton Watkins and other photographers depicting the West were of great inspiration. Soon, my artistic influence and appreciation came to value contemporary works and the dualities often present in modern life.

On this site you will find two bodies of work, the first body of work titled Golden Meadows was an exploration of the two horse racing tracks in the San Francisco bay area.  Golden Meadows was inspired by both the traditionally perceived beauty and strength of the racehorse and by the entire spectacle that is created by horse racing. As I considered the facilities and structures, the jockeys and the cross-section of spectators, the allure of gambling and the manufactured thrill that accompanies the sport – I was struck by the recurring themes of preparation, repetition and casual chaos paired with beauty and routine. As a photographer I have developed great empathy for the racehorse, and can see the animal as metaphor for the artist within the system.

In the latest series, Recollected Memories, I was inspired by the tales of my families westward migration and am merging the landscapes of the American West with my family albums, attempting to collocate the medium of photography, 21st century digital practices, with the personal. The results that come into focus are new fantastical stories. Each blended piece possesses its own original story while the viewer takes away another version that is his or her own.  They are stories of perseverance, pride, struggle, life and death. They are human stories intertwined in a majestic landscape.

I received an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2009. I have been exhibiting my photographs in Pennsylvania, Oregon, California and Arizona since 2000 at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, the Pendleton Art Center, The Center for Fine Art Photography, The Togonon Gallery and many other locations. My work is in various private collections and in the Paul Sack Collection at the SFMOMA.  I am represented by the Togonon Gallery and the SFMOMA Artists Gallery in San Francisco, California.  When not shooting freelance, I am an instructor at the Art Academy University, the San Francisco Photo Center and the San Francisco Art Institute ACE program.

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