I have been photographing places, people and events since I was six years old, after receiving my first camera as a birthday present. The Instamatic camera that started what at one time was a part time hobby has turned into a passion as I have gotten older. My first 35mm camera was a Ricoh 500G, this camera really taught me the value of shutter speed, aperture, ISO settings and the use of a hot shoe mounted flash. During my high school years, I used this camera to delve into sports photography, architecture, landscapes and aviation. These same years also opened up my horizons to developing my own film and photos. It was in the Darkroom where I learned some of the finer skills employed by photographers to produce images that had depth, contrast and shading to achieve the look I wanted. I enlisted in the Air Force before high school was over, becoming an aircraft maintainer. During my initial years in the Air Force, I purchased a Pentax K-1000 and continued to hone my skills and techniques. Following a two-year assignment in Florida, I was sent to RAF Fairford in the UK where I continued to take pictures of fantastic landscapes, aircraft and people. Amongst my favorite pictures are our young children, our pets and watching aircraft coming up to be refueled in flight. Wanting to push my abilities even more, I purchased a Pentax ME Super that really allowed me to control the settings for the pictures I was taking to another level. After returning to the states following a three and a half year tour, I continued taking pictures of places and aviation. My career took me to places like Panama, Germany, England, Azores, Saudi Arabia, Guam, Japan, China, South Korea, Iceland, Hawaii, Alaska and several places in lower 48 states. After 26 years on active duty, I retired in May of 2004 which has allowed me to spend more time working on improving my technique, developing a style that drives me to work to get the exact shot I want and not settle for the quick picture or something less. As good quality film processing businesses became more difficult to find, I started switching over to digital cameras. Today I shoot with two different camera bodies. For Roller Derby and some outdoor landscape work, I use my Nikon D610’s. For portraits and wildlife shots, I use my Nikon D810’s. Recently I have been working with my recently purchased Nikon Z6 doing a bit of everything. Today, I spent a lot of time out looking for raptors, landscapes, wildlife while also enjoying photographing rodeo’s roller derby, figure skating, 4H events, equestrian and aviation. For me photography is more than capturing the moment, it is about the moment and creating a memory for someone to last a lifetime. I have been a member of the WHA for seven years as an exhibiting artist.