As a kid I had a hard time focusing. Growing up with dyslexia made reading challenging for me so most of my time in school was spent day-dreaming and drawing. I struggled with low self-esteem and always felt like the slowest kid in the classroom. My parents realized this and made what was a radical move at that time and pulled me out of public school and started homeschooling.
Being homeschooled was a fresh start for me. It gave me the time and opportunity to take my passion for art and do something with it in a practical way. Before long I was mentoring with an accomplished landscape artist Roger D Arndt. I learned color theory, composition and what it would take to survive as a full time artist. This turned out to be the most important education I could have asked for and really shaped me as the artist and photographer I am today.
Becoming a sports photographer happened as a natural progression for me. I had no real aspiration at the time to shoot these types of photos. But growing up in British Columbia I was surrounded by epic landscapes and people who were excited about getting out and experiencing them. My close group of friends and I have a passion for skiing and mountain biking, we starting experimenting with different photo set-ups on our adventures and that is how this addiction to getting the shot started and why I love experiencing the outdoors through the lens today.