I think there are moments when we all wish we could make time stop, not forever, but just so we can hold onto it long enough to savor that moment.

That's what I aim to do in every photo session. 

I believe in being myself and in you being yourself. Our REAL selves. I know I'm at my best when I'm allowed and encouraged to be exactly who I really am. So in every photo shoot my goal is to do just that for you, your child, your employee, your model, because there's nothing more appealing than being your authentic self. 

I'm simply there to get you to that place, and witness it with my camera - to make time stop long enough so you can hold onto it while it keeps moving along. I'll sculpt you with light and composition but mostly I'm there to capture the beauty of who you really are.

And when we get there, we know it. Some say I might scream or yell or kick my leg with joy. I think they're telling stories but I do know it feels like joy and connection. That's why I only love taking photographs of people even though I live next door to the wilderness and birding center. It's that human connection.

People tell me that even 10, 15 years later, they cherish the wall portrait, graduation card or bound book or magazine of their child, and it all comes back -  that band t-shirt you argued about wearing, the hair they insisted on being over one eye, the smile that holds the promise of anything and everything, and even a glimpse of the grown-up they're on the verge of becoming.

So, until time travel becomes a reality, I hope I'm the next best thing.