Growing up on a farm in the southern Ontario countryside, my creative eye was developed around the beauty of subtleties. Unlike living in the city, opportunities for interesting photos rarely presented themselves to me- instead, I had to learn how to find them. Early on, looking closely for the details that make a subject or composition interesting became my primary practice in photography. Now, this approach is taken with just about every piece of art that I create, whether it’s a shot of an outdoor environment, or a person sitting down in the studio for a portrait. Due in large part to the fact that I grew up in a rural area, I have a great passion for incorporating nature in my portraiture, especially when it is at its least conventionally “photogenic”. The greyest winter days have set the backdrop for some of my favourite photos I’ve made. This attention to the environment also informs my studio photography, as I always aim to provide a sense of place to my subjects and figure out interesting ways to use the space.

I was raised (and continue to live) with Hamilton being the nearest city, so I’ve become very familiar with it over the course of my life. I attended Mohawk College’s Photography: Still & Motion program from 2021-2023, and graduated with honors. While I was at Mohawk, I competed on behalf of the school in the 2023 Skills Ontario competition and won the gold medal in photography, which was a very proud moment. My connection to Hamilton extends far beyond my schooling however, as most of my creative and professional pursuits in photography have taken place there. In December 2023, I organized a pop-up portrait shoot hosted by Daddy’s Plastic Vintage, where dozens of subjects signed up to have me take their photo (this is now an annual event). Over the course of two days, I took hundreds of portraits and made tons of great Hamiltonian friends, and I consider this a major highlight of my photography journey thus far.