My greatest passion in life is not photography. It's not even for nature. The thing that truly drives me is bringing joy into other peoples lives, to help them break away from the chaos of the world, if only for a brief moment. To make people smile or laugh or just help them feel like they're not alone.
June 1st, 2021. The evening of my 31st birthday. The stress of work, bills, strained relationships with friends and family and my absolutely abysmal love life flooded my thoughts. My heart felt heavy. I happened to glance out the window and that's when I saw it. A cloud formation in the shape of an "A" in the most brilliant shades of red. I took it as a sign that my brother was telling me that I'm not alone and I deserve to be happy, to breathe and enjoy things.
In June 2003, my brother and I were in a car accident. Sadly, he did not survive the crash. His name was Alex and one of his nicknames growing up was "red" because he had the most fiery ginger hair. Alex was always one who took time to "stop and smell the roses." He always did whatever he could to make sure everyone felt included and happy.
Shortly after seeing this "A" in the sky, I started going out for walks every night. It became my daily dose of zen. The one time of day that I gave myself permission to let go of everything and think of nothing but the beauty all around me. I would snap a couple pictures everyday and I started sharing them on social media and it quickly became something that my friends started looking forward to every day. They'd send me pictures of the sky they had taken and tell me that since I started sharing my photos, they've started taking the time to stop and appreciate the beauty around them.
In the summer of 2022, I started getting interested in learning proper photography techniques, composition, editing, the basics. My work started getting shared on the WENY news station multiple times a week and it has brought me quite an astonishing following. My work has since gotten attention from Explore Steuben. I was honored with being published as the inside cover of the 2023 edition of their Experience Travel Guide. Dormann Library invited me to be their featured artist for the month of June 2023. I was featured by Corning's Gaffer District for 2023 Earth Day. Corning's Gaffer District also reached out to invite me to showcase at Glassfest 2023. The response has been beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of.
I never planned on being a photographer, but knowing how much joy it has given to people has made me fall in love with the art. Continuing my brothers legacy, my purpose in this life is to bring happiness to others and through the lens I will continue to honor the memory of that fiery red headed beacon of light.
The fiery red head that ignited my purpose.
The sunset that started it all.
Alex and I at my dads wedding - 1999.