My Story...

I grew up in a house where National Geographic publications graced almost every surface, the living room tables, the kitchen counters, the obscure shelves, the floors under the couch, and all the bathrooms, so I was fluently steeped in an environment of beautiful photography. In addition, my parents had an appreciation for modern art and never missed an opportunity to take us to galleries that exposed us to the full range creative composition and themes (even if we sometimes mistakenly and mistook a piece as a construction site or messy broom closet).

The combination of classic nature and travel photography and boundary pushing composition influences the way I feel about the balance and sentiment I try to convey in my work. I love the way the rare image causes us to involuntarily sigh, or smile, or murmur to ourselves. I also love images that make a question spring to mind: What IS that? Where was THAT taken? What kind of flower is THAT?

I’ve never had any formal training in photography. I’ve read a little here and there, but essentially I know what I like and very often, that seems to touch a chord in others.

I first remember picking up a camera on a family vacation to the Turks and Cacaos, when I was about 10-years-old. I "borrowed" the camera and had no idea what I was doing, but I took it anyway and was drawn to the garden to photograph the array of exotic flowers outside our cabin. I don’t know if any of those pictures were any good, or where they are now, but the rush of looking at life behind a lens has stuck with me ever since.

I grew up in a small town in Northern Vermont, St. Albans, one hour south of Montreal. There, in the heart of maple sugaring country, I grew to appreciate all the beauty that nature has to offer. I have been a grateful (albeit occasionally chilly) witness to Vermont's long winters that melt into "mud season," before finding their way into brilliant green springs and summers, and finally to the glory of Vermont's famous autumn color.

In my family, as soon as you could carry your own backpack without falling over you were off into the world. And as a result, I have been traveling with my family from a very young age. It was on one of these trips, when I was thirteen, that I rediscovered my love for photography. With only a bottom of the line pocket digital camera I bought on clearance, and my own brand of curiosity and creativity, I found my love for macro-photography.

As my family continued to travel to "off-the-beaten-path" destinations like Slovenia, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Ecuador, and the Czech Republic, my sense of wonder and love for photography continued to expand. I never dreamed of doing anything public with my pictures until my friend's mum suggested that I display some framed prints at our local hospital, just to see if they would sell. As it turned out, they did!

Starting out, I never felt right just selling my prints. I wanted to do something bigger than myself with them. In 2008, when I was a freshman in high school, I got interested in the work of our local shelter for battered women and their children. It was then that I decided that I could donate $10 to them for each of the prints I sold in my exhibitions. By my senior year of high school I was there single largest donor. 

When I started Phrog Eye Photography I never dreamed that things would move along at the pace they did, my work is now displayed in homes and businesses across Vermont, and has journeyed across the United States and even the world!

Many of the photographs on the site are taken with a simple point-and-shoot digital camera. None of the photographs have been photo-shopped in any way. People are always telling me that I could do this and that with Photoshop, but I guess I'm a purest. I use the same photo editing standards prescribed by National Geographic Magazine, which limit any editing to minor color and light adjustments only. I never save an image unless it is in crystal clear focus, which can be incredibly frustrating during the editing process. 

In May 2015, I graduated from Harvard University with a degree in architectural design and economics. I hope to eventually find my way into the world of Architecture, and Public Interest and Urban Design. During my time in Cambridge, I photographed fewer woodland vistas and forest creatures, but I was able to travel extensively during my college years and explore many places in East and South East Asia. 

For now, I am on to my next adventure! 

Thank you for looking around my website. I love doing this for the pleasure it brings others, and I'm having so much fun now that I live by the motto "Keep your friends close, and your camera even closer!"