My interest in photography started early. My father was an amateur photographer and introduced me to the darkroom.

I became more serious in high school, shooting for the paper and yearbook. In college, I was noticed by the yearbook advisor and brought along on a number of professional shoots. I had a few sports photos published in the local paper and Running Times magazine.

Just then, the magic bug bit—and bit hard. I sold most of the cameras to finance the magic, and switched to a point and shoot for many years.

Then, I went to Venice. I was stunned by the vistas around me and frustrated by my inability to capture them as I envisioned them. This frustration prompted me to get a camera that had the manual controls needed to capture what I was seeing.