What I have done, what I do
I have been deeply involved with photography all my life, going all the way back to high school, back when photography involved something called "film". I've been working as a photographer since 2003, and since I shot my first wedding in 2006, weddings and portraits have been the focus of my working. In addition to my wedding practice, I have for the last several years been invited to take portraits of guests and their families at the Dallas Arboretum during their May Flowers event. I have had the honor of taking the portraits of priests, principals, teachers, parents, children and coaches, including one of the coaches of the super successful USA 2008 Beijing Olympics swim team.
I do not work generally for publication but my photos have appeared in magazines and newspapers from time to time. I write about photography frequently on my blog and elsewhere, and I am currently working on a book on photography.
I am an Active Professional level member of the Professional Photographers of America, the oldest and still one of the largest professional associations for photographers in the US of A.
My "approach" to photography
I am an event photographer with a documentary approach and what I like to call a "classic" style. The best way to understand what I do is by looking at a few photos, but if you like to read about this sort of thing, read on.
"Classic style" means I want to take photos that will look fresh in fifty years. Now you can't actually try for this. Nobody knows for sure what will look fresh in fifty years. But I do try not to take photos that I feel are too trendy, because I know that these will date quickly. The point of the wedding gown and the tuxedo is precisely that these are not "fashions" that come and go every year. And that's what I strive for in my photography.
As for "documentary approach," that means I'm there to record what happened because what happened is important in itself - not just because it's a photo op.
Of course, I always try to take beautiful photos, but I am trying to capture the beauty of the world as it is - not create a beauty of my own.
I hasten to add that sometimes reality needs a bit of help to reach its potential. Most of us look better when we're cleaned up, and beautiful backgrounds are better than ugly ones (although truly ugly backgrounds can be better than merely ordinary ones). Portraits can be work. Many of my subjects find it hard to act natural in front of the camera. I understand. I'm the same way.
This is why I think wedding photography is the hardest - certainly one of the hardest - types of photography. Fashion photography, by contrast, looks easy. I mean, if you have beautiful models, professionals helping with costume, makeup, and lighting, and you shoot in exotically beautiful locations or terrific studios, how could you possible fail to take good photos? I take pretty photos in the Rocky Mountains, too. Almost everybody does. But photographing people on the move, people doing things - getting married, talking to friends, walking the dog or answering the phone - these are ordinary moments that pass so quickly that the photographer has to act fast, moments whose beauty is so delicate that the photographer has to tread lightly to capture it.
What's left of me
I live in Dallas, Texas, with my wife Joan, the youngest of our three daughters, a couple of dogs and a couple of cats. Wife Joan is an attorney. Daughter #1 is in med school, daughter #2 is in law school, and daughter #3 is studying dance at one of the best arts high schools in the country. And me? I'm doing more photography than ever, but when I'm not taking photos, I run a very small software company, and I write. I've been working behind the camera for over thirty years and look forward to thirty more.