Part 3: From Photography to Design—and Back Again
February of 2020: My first time back in the saddle after a long layoff!
In many ways, my story is a circle—an arc that began with a camera and eventually returned to it, richer for the distance traveled. After over a decade spent immersed in urban planning and landscape architecture, I found myself—through the unexpected disruption of COVID-19—drawn back to the quiet power of image-making. This blog post traces that path, showing how my creative instincts as a photographic artist survived and evolved across vastly different disciplines.
From Darkrooms to Deadlines: The First Chapter
Before I ever picked up a stylus or redlined a plan set, I was telling stories through light. My early career began in photojournalism, where the goal was to reveal truth in a single frame. These formative years taught me to chase the decisive moment, to seek authenticity, and to trust natural light as my primary collaborator.
But the path wasn't linear. I was also deeply interested in how people shape—and are shaped by—their environments. This led me to pursue dual Master’s degrees in Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning at Kansas State University. Over the next decade, I dedicated myself to shaping physical spaces, working on everything from downtown master plans to award-winning design projects with prominent firms.
COVID-19: A Disruption and a Return
Like for many creatives, the pandemic was both a rupture and a revelation. With the world on pause, I found myself returning to long walks, remote hikes, and—inevitably—the camera. At first, photography was simply a way to process the stillness and solitude of lockdown. But slowly, it became something more.
Something called me back.
I began revisiting the landscapes I had once documented with graphite and GIS. Only now, I was documenting them again—this time with a large-format camera, long exposures, and the patient, meditative techniques of black-and-white photography.
This moment wasn’t just nostalgic. It was catalytic.
February 2020: Pyramid Dune
Building a New (Old) Life
Since then, I’ve built a full-time practice around fine art photography, returning to the medium with greater clarity and purpose. My work now explores themes of quietude, presence, and scale—rooted in the expansive vistas of my childhood in Kansas, but informed by years of design thinking and place-making.
My minimalist black-and-white landscapes invite viewers into a dialogue. They are not just images; they are spaces—crafted much like the parks and plazas I once helped design. The focus is always on emotional resonance, not spectacle. And perhaps unsurprisingly, my work has found a new audience, with collectors appreciating both the aesthetic and the story behind it.
You can explore my full Fine Art Landscape Photography Collection, or browse curated series like the Waterfalls Collection, which merges technical precision with deep emotional undercurrents.
Why the Circle Matters
They say you can't step in the same river twice. And yet, here I am—back where I started, but changed.
Photography was never lost to me; it simply waited. And everything I learned in planning, architecture, and collaborative design has only made my visual storytelling more layered, more grounded. This journey has come full circle—not in repetition, but in evolution.
December 2020: Badwater Basin
And I’m just getting started.
Follow the Journey
If you’d like to keep up with new releases, behind-the-scenes stories, and exclusive collector offers, join my VIP Collector’s List. You can also read more about my backstory on the About page, or view recent award-winning pieces in the Latest Works section.