I'm a Bay Area-based photographer specializing in outdoor portraits, families, individuals, and couples who want natural light and real locations rather than a studio setup.

Photography found me through a life spent outdoors. I've lived and worked across Australia, Nepal, Vietnam, Eritrea and London before settling in Mountain View. Those years moving through different places taught me to slow down, pay attention, and look for the moments that happen when people stop performing and just exist somewhere.

I have two kids of my own, a daughter who's 21 and a son who's 17. I've been photographing them since they were small, which means I've navigated every stage of the "kids who don't want to be photographed" problem firsthand. That experience shapes how I work with families. I know when to push gently and when to just wait for the moment to happen naturally.

That's what I bring to every session, whether it's a family at a Bay Area garden, someone wanting portraits they're genuinely proud of, or a couple on a coastal bluff at golden hour. I'm interested in the way people soften outdoors. The way they breathe differently, move differently, and look like themselves rather than a version of themselves assembled for a camera.

Why my outdoor background matters

Outside of photography, I climb, backpack and mountain bike, and I've trekked the Annapurna Circuit and to Everest Base Camp. Closer to home, I'm a BSA Level 2 Rock Climbing Instructor and an adult Scout leader, which means plenty of weekends teaching teenagers to tie in, belay and move safely on rock.

I'm also a member of the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit (BAMRU), the volunteer mountain search and rescue team based in San Mateo County. Rescue work teaches you to read terrain, weather and people when things aren't going to plan. The same habits show up at every session I photograph.

What that means for you:

• I'm at home near cliff edges, on coastal trails and on rock, with a camera in hand, so the best spot doesn't have to be the safest-looking one by the parking lot.

• I'm a Wilderness First Responder and BLS trained. If a toddler takes a tumble on a trail or someone turns an ankle on a bluff, it's handled calmly.

• I scout locations the way I'd scout a route: access, footing, tides, light, and a plan B if any of them change.

Photography is how I bring those two parts of my life together: time outside, and the people I share it with.