Artist Statement

I do not describe my photographs as works of art, but rather as windows into a world of exploration and experience. Every stroll down a beach or hike through a forest is captured in my work. Through these images, I want to give others a chance to feel the same peace and serenity that floods my soul when I am surrounded by nature. I want my photographs to encourage people to look beyond the digital print mounted on the wall in front of them. If my audience can begin to see my photos as a window into the world beyond, I feel that I have achieved my personal goals as an artist.

For me, capturing textures, shapes, colors and how the light of the sun plays with the natural world, will allow the viewer’s senses to take over. In this moment, I want them to imagine what the bark of a redwood tree feels like, what a gurgling stream sounds like, or how the light from a sunrise paints the landscape differently than that of a sunset. Through these windows, I hope to provide people an escape
from their hectic, fast-paced lives they often find themselves in everyday. My goal is to free them of their cell phones and laptops and urge them to step out of their comfort zone, into the world of nature. Above all, I wish to expose them to the world full of raw, unaltered beauty that will open their eyes to the fragility and importance of life if only for a couple of seconds.

Photographing nature is the only way that I can escape the reality of modern life. All my frustrations and concerns seem to vanish as I stumble into the natural world. No smog-filled skies, only crisp, clean air. No trash-flooded streets, only color-drenched trails. To me, it is the ultimate paradise.

Nature became an escape during my years living in Los Angeles. Growing up on three acres in the middle of a secluded valley gave me a great passion and appreciation for nature. When I moved to the city my freshman year in college, I couldn’t believe that so much of earth’s natural environment was being eroded away by construction and pollution and how people were too busy with their lives to even notice. I had to get out. I had to show people what else was out there to explore and experience. So I started recording my treks into nature with a camera.

Through my photography, I hope that people will experience a similar feeling and find their own paradise in nature. I want people to be inspired by my passion for nature so that they might strive to form their own relationship with it.