I remember a couple photos of myself, taken by my step father, that were framed and hanging in the hallway of our house when I was young; and it’s not just that I remember that there were photos of me, I remember appreciating their specific photographic qualities—the light, the selective focus, the composition. I would guess that I was around ten years old, and already interested in the photographic process.

I wouldn’t get a camera until my eighteenth birthday, but wanted one long before that, and I thought about photography quite a bit. I studied the photos in my BMX magazines, and I had a favorite BMX photographer. I could identify his photos without having to see the photo credit—he had a recognizable style, a vision. National Geographic was also inspiring. The photos, as well as the words, would transport me to far away exotic places.

By the time I got a camera, I was heavily involved in BMX bicycling, and I got straight to work shooting photos of my friends, trying to emulate the photos I had mesmerized me when I was younger. It was my dream to have photos published in a BMX magazine, and I had read somewhere that magazines preferred transparencies, so I started shooting slide film almost from the beginning.

At 22 I spent a summer doing BMX shows with a circus family, The Nerveless Knocks, at an amusement park in Pittsburgh, PA. While there I met and shot photos of all the local Pittsburgh riders. Later that Fall, while recovering from a broken clavicle, I wrote up a “Scene Report”, packaged up my photos, and shipped it all off to my favorite BMX magazine at the time. I didn’t call, and they never called me, but a couple months later a new issue of the magazine showed up, and there were my words and photos.

I continued contributing and eventually selling photos, and a few years later I had the opportunity to launch a new BMX bicycling magazine. The childhood dream had become reality. I worked in the BMX bicycling industry as a photographer and graphic designer for about ten years. Over the years my photography went in new directions as I worked for different companies and my role changed.

I’m proud of the photography that I was able to create. Each photo has a bit of my soul in it.