While hiking a trail at Babcock State Park in 2002, my journey as a photographic artist began–unknown to me at the time. I spotted a dash of purple standing out in a colorless footpath. As I knelt down, I recognized the splash of color as a violet. I reached for my digital camera, just four months old, bent down for a closer look, and took a photograph. The image of the violet, sharply in focus and brilliant in color, enthralled me. At that moment, I realized that a digital camera could endow me with a second set of eyes to explore my world as a nature photographer.
Since then I have focused on sharing with others the beauty of nature in West Virginia through photography and writing. Guided by the words of John Muir, “To the sane and free, it will hardly seem necessary to cross the continent in search of wild beauty, however easy the way, for they find it in abundance wherever they chance to be,” my wife, Phyllis, and I stay right at home in West Virginia and explore its State Parks, the New River Gorge, National Parks, and Forest Lands in search of “Wild Beauty.” Our search often leads us off the beaten path, where many unique and inspiring landscapes, waterfalls, and wildflowers lay waiting to be discovered and shared.

Biography

I am a photographer and writer focused on sharing with others the beauty of nature in Appalachia. I’ve published two books and more than 70 magazine articles exploring the natural beauties of West Virginia. My cover photos include Wonderful West Virginia, West Virginia South, and Blue Ridge Country magazines. I coauthored an award-winning book of photography called West Virginia Waterfalls: The New River Gorge. My work has appeared in Juried Art Shows at the following galleries: Tamarack: The Best of WV, Beckley, WV; The Bascom, Highlands, NC; the WV Culture Center, Charleston, WV, the Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, WV, and the Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR. Over 30 pieces of my work were commissioned for the Charleston Area Medical Center’s Cancer Center.

Other Creative Skills

Photography