I've been taking pictures of the world around me since high school and have developed my gift through travels to New York, Australia and New Zealand and former Soviet block countries. Last summer I had the privilege of teaching a photography class to at-risk kids in our community.  Aside from a few basic skills, majority of the class focused on keenly observing the environment around them and using the camera to tell a story.  All the kids carried around baggage resulting from a difficult home-life or a traumatic experience, holding them back from truly experiencing beauty around them.  The class proved to be incredibly rewarding, resulting in an art show displaying all the kids’ works of art.  However, the class was most rewarding to me, as through it, I had re-discovered an old passion:  looking past what may seem like ugly and disturbing circumstances to illustrate God’s beautiful identity in the world through the eye of a camera.  I shoot with professional series Canon digital cameras and lenses and carefully edit and color correct each image in Photoshop.  While I have experience in shooting stills for films, as well as portraits for families and organizations; my love is to capture the stories of children, documenting their innocence and simplicity.