About Myself
I've always been drawn to photography as a way to express myself, and also as a way to tell stories. My favorite works of art are those that invite the viewer to ask questions and make up their own stories, and that's something I work for, both in my landscape photography and in my other projects.
In college at San Jose State University in California, I studied Transportation and Product design, but eventually moved into the Photography department. From there I went onto San Francisco State to study film and animation, landing a job in the effects industry at Tippett Studio in Berkeley in 1997. After 3 years at Tippett's, I moved down to New Zealand to work on the Lord of the Rings films in 2000, staying there until 2004, when I and my family moved to Los Angeles.
A Note On Equipment
After seeing Macduff Everton use his during a workshop, I was hooked on the Noblex 150, a panoramic medium format camera that wraps the film around a cylinder before exposing it. This allows for a different feel to the final image, one I feel more closely matches the way I see. One unique characteristic of this type of camera is that when there are horizonal lines present in a scene, they become curved the closer they get to the photographer. This isn't so noticeable in landscape or nature photography, but quickly becomes apparent when shooting architectural scenes. I find it suits me, because it looks a little funky and less formal than the flatter images you get with cameras that lay the film flat behind the lens.
I mainly use Fuji film, both Pro160C and Pro400H. I'll occasionally use Pro800Z, but haven't needed to use it as frequently as the other two. When I go backpacking, I travel as light as possible, in order to carry my Noblex, light meter, twenty or so rolls of film, a notebook, and assorted other photography-related items. By travelling ultralight, I can keep my pack weight down to around 27 pounds for 4 days, including photography equipment.
