Journalism
I specialize in coverage of breaking news events and political issues, filling in gaps in legacy news media coverage. I designed a custom mobile journalism system that provides me with a more flexible platform to quickly broadcast and upload media. I'm constantly working on new ways to leverage advances in mobile technology, and further simplify the complex tasks required of a multimedia journalist. My focus on speed, mobility and simplicity gives me an ability to satisfy the ever-growing need for fast, concise, unbiased, and broadcast-quality news products.
As a professional drone pilot, I use aerial video to create an immersive experience for viewers. I also produce documentary videos and occasionally publish written news stories.
I graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering in 2005. I started work as a TV news stringer in Los Angeles in 2014. The first story I covered was the 2014 ‘Nightmare Nanny’ dispute in Upland, California. After following leads from a KTLA (the leading Los Angeles news network) reporter, I was able to track down the individual at the center of the controversy. I was the first journalist to record an on-camera interview with her, which I licensed to KTLA. I also covered the 2015 San Bernardino attack, providing valuable close-in live footage for KTLA.
Working alongside career journalists and negotiating with national news networks and TV shows gave me an opportunity to quickly learn the fundamentals of the profession. My work has appeared in productions by AJ+ (Al Jazeera), Fusion (Univision), NBC, HBO and BBC, among others.
Landscape Photography
Deserts are often mistaken as lifeless, barren lands — hostile to all but the most stubborn, foolish travelers. It’s not true. The great American deserts welcomely offer sublime, undisturbed and rugged wilderness.
The brightest colors, most alien-looking plants, and bizarre geological formations that I’ve come across in my desert travels are miles from even the slightest trace of humanity. Only after several days of cross-country backpacking through desert wilderness do I feel I can fully appreciate their surreal wonders. The further you venture and more vulnerable you are, the more visible nature’s rewards become.
Common examples of desert photography tend to focus on sweeping representational accounts of the landscape. This approach fails to capture unnoticed visual arrangements, colors and abstract geometries independent of obvious visual references. These are the qualities I emphasize in my work.
I tend to shoot in the middle of the day. Desert sunlight is usually harshest during these hours, presenting major challenges to a photographer. However, it’s important for me to show the viewer what the desert looks like in its most exceptional state: Intense, bright, midday sun. Surprisingly, overcast days aren’t rare. Cirrus clouds will blanket the afternoon sky, diffusing and softening the intense light. I take advantage of these moments whenever possible.
I don’t attempt to simply document what I come across. I like to take my time with my subjects as if I were taking portraits. Inanimate objects often seem to have a personality or character that’s important for me to capture. I want the viewer to have the same emotional reaction to nature that I have. A cactus may only be a plant, but the mysterious curves, colors and intricate textures in it belie a character that is as energetic as that of any animal.