About My Work

My love of photography grew out of my passion for travel and a little adventure.  After receiving my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Michigan State University, I began my work life as a software engineer.  With a little money in my pocket for the first time, places like Egypt, Spain and Morocco soon called.

Later, trips to places like the Galapagos Islands, Tanzania and Alaska fired an interest in capturing wildlife and landscapes.  In my attempts to photograph my adventures, my technical skills grew and my equipment quickly morphed from “point and shoot” to backpacks full of 35mm SLRs, lenses, tripods and slide film.

Eventually, I turned from software to teaching.  The little guys, elementary school kids.  I returned to school at Eastern Michigan University to complete my teacher certification and later earned my Master’s Degree in Special Education from the University of Michigan - Dearborn.

Each school year, after a summer full of travel, I would head back to the classroom with slide shows of adventure to share.  Whales seen from kayaks, penguins photographed while snorkeling, mountains reaching to the sky.  I brought places like Greenland, Peru, Australia, Mexico, China and Tibet to my students.

In 2004, my first daughter arrived.  I left teaching and became a full time mother.  I found that leaving the classroom allowed me to take all my creative energy and channel it into my photography.  And slowly, my passion for capturing an image in far away places began to include subjects closer to home.

My work began to include more portraiture.  I love to photograph people and the relationships between people.  I enjoy the challenge of really capturing the essence of a person. 

These days, I don’t need to travel so far afield to see the beauty around me.  I am inspired by a fresh strawberry at the market, a small child on the playground, an interesting architectural detail, a beautifully set table, a fabulous pair of shoes, an interesting face on the street, the old downtowns that surround me or the beautiful light of a summer evening or a fall afternoon. 

My travel and fine art images are available for publication and for art prints.  I am available for commercial work and assignments.