I am 39, but I don't feel that old. I have been married to my best friend (Buffy), for 17 years. We have two beautiful daughters, Laura (11) and Kate (5). I teach web mastering, multimedia and animation at The Academy of Irving ISD in Irving, Texas and love going to work every single day. As much as I like teaching, learning about digital photography is what really keeps me excited these days. Everything else about me can be summed up below...

1. I live a blessed life.
2. I like being outside.
3. I don't mind being too hot or too cold.
4. It's hard for me to act mean or angry. I can never pull it off without smiling.
5. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
6. I don't take anything too seriously.
7. I like to work hard.
8. I like sitting on the floor.
9. I love to travel.
10. If they ever make a movie or "made for tv" special of my life story, they would need to get Jerry Seinfeld to play me. If Jerry isn't available, they could use Jack Black.
 

I have put in a lot of thought as to why I should pursue this photography thing when I have a perfectly good job and a perfectly good family at home to devote my time to.
I am not looking to quit my day job or get rich. I just want three simple things:

1. I want to have a hobby I love that pays for itself.
I love gadgets and technology. Portrait photography has been a source of income to purchase and upgrade my hardware and software. If I ever am in a position to earn a part-time or full-time income from my photography, that would be pretty cool too.
2. I want to use my talents and resources to benefit others.
I am truly blessed by God in the things I have received and the talents that come so natural to me. I feel obligated to pass on these blessings to other people through the photos that I take. I am not a real big talker, so I want my actions to speak for me. 
3. I want to help people to see the beauty in normal, everyday things.
I have never had a problem with seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. I thrive on keeping things simple, casual and personal. This keeps me from taking myself too seriously and keeping the really important things in proper perspective.
 
With a business plan like this, it will be really hard to fail. As long as I can find a way to make these happen, my business venture will be headed in the right direction.
 

I've always wanted to take amazing photos, but I never knew how. I could always see them in my mind's eye through the viewfinder, I just didn't have the technique in place to capture them. When I got my Canon Digital Rebel in June 2005, I started to figure it out. I took this photo of a woman at the Plaza in Santa Fe, NM about a week after I got that camera. I bought a piece of turquoise jewelry from her and just asked to take this snapshot of her afterwards on a whim. This was the first time I had ever taken a picture of someone I didn't know. As soon as I showed her this image on the LCD screen, I was totally hooked. Since then, I have been in a non-stop learning frenzy. This is the one that started it all.