I’m happiest when I’m outdoors. Mountains call to me. It’s why I moved to Bend. Hiking through the fairy forests of Oregon with their ferns and moss-covered trees is truly magical. I love it so much, and I know that this breathtaking beauty is meant to be appreciated and shared. I continually strive to create photographs that capture the essence of the outdoors and nature. I put up my photos, so I’m surrounded by nature when working in my office or relaxing at home.

My photos are the result of a lifetime (since I was 13) of learning how to shoot a scene that I love in a way that can express that appreciation to others. When I take a photo, I will work to find the perfect combination of composition and light that best represents what I experienced. The original photo is then edited to convey what I saw. Most of my photos are single shots, although night photos and a few others require a composite of photos to give the sense of what it was like when I stood in front of the scene.

While I didn’t go to a photography school, I did study it in high school and college. In high school, I learned the basics. In college, I took classes from photographer Harvey Himelfarb who was a contemporary of many great photographers like Imogen Cunningham, and he apprenticed with Jerry Uelsmann. 

I never stop learning new techniques and building on what I know. It’s part of the fun of taking photos…the challenge to create a mood or convey a feeling or get in close to a flower to show mother nature’s perfect art. Or to be a hunter, shooting the perfect moment of a bird or other animal. 

My husband had cancer many years ago, and I had a toddler at home. I had to leave my career in Hollywood and get a job at an electronics store. We explained technology to the customers, and I discovered that I could make it simple for people. It launched my career of writing books and articles about technology that I’ve done alongside developing my photography. That was the time when digital cameras first became available.  

Although I was simply a salesperson, people would make appointments to learn about digital cameras from me. Local photo shops would send their customers to me as they were still ensconced in the world of film cameras and hadn’t learned about digital yet. Being in L.A., I had some pretty famous “students” (customers).  

I still take that same approach to teach others photography and editing photos. It begins with where the student is — what they understand— and builds from there. Taking others on tours to photograph amazing places and helping them to get photos that express what they see gives me so much joy. 

Along with my fine art photography gallery, I have worked as a professional photographer. Over the past dozen-plus years, I have been a travel photographer, published weekly on the cover of the lifestyle section of the Bend Bulletin, Central Oregon’s newspaper. My photos have also been featured in Alaska Airlines’ Alaska Beyond magazine, The Eugene Register Guard, Bend Living, and others. My food photos accompanied stories as well, and for a while, I wrote restaurant reviews. The Oregon Lottery used my photo of Beaver Creek as the center of one of its campaigns. It was on everything from billboards to brochures throughout Oregon.

Commercial clients hire me to shoot products and businesses. Because I love to tell stories, I shoot events —from conventions to concerts to private parties. I especially love bar mitzvahs. But I don’t do weddings.  

Whether you are looking to bring the outdoors into your home on your wall or on your morning coffee’s mug, or you want to learn photography, or you have photography needs for your business, I’m happy to be there to tell the story, capture the essence and share the beauty with others.