I grew up in a small desert town in Yucca Valley California, next to Joshua Tree National Park. I lived in a great household but was always getting into trouble. My early days were spent mostly on a dirt bike, ditching school to go skateboarding, or the typical metal/hardcore music concert every weekend. I hung around gangs in the Coachella Valley/Indio area, partying, and just doing what I could to fit in and be seen.
I had a great relationship with my parents and some close friends who did what they could to keep me on track but I just strayed away in my teenage years up until my early twenties.
From there, I decided to pursue film school in Los Angeles and make an attempt at college, as I had barely graduated high school with a 1.7 GPA. I told myself I could compensate for the wasted time and apply myself for a 4.0 GPA. Once I managed to do that, knowing that I would be six figures in debt for attending an art school, I decided to drop out and pursue the field of photography on my own.
After purchasing my first camera, I traveled everywhere with it and ended up moving to Laguna Beach for a change of scenery. For the next ten years, I worked as a fashion photographer between LA and NYC, making connections and practicing my craft before being recognized by bigger modeling agencies and brands like Marc Jacobs, Converse, and Guess Jeans, to name a few.
Fast forward a decade later, and something just didn't feel right. I was making good money, but I wasn't satisfied. At that point in my life, I knew I wanted to capture something different, that had more of an impact on others' lives, including my own.
So, almost six years ago, I was invited to a small ranch in northern California.
What was supposed to be only a few days stay turned into almost two weeks of me taking photos of cowboys and the Western lifestyle.
I was in love! I found a new sense of purpose and love for photography again.
Not only that, but I was interacting with these families and sharing their stories for others to see.
When I went back to southern California, I continued to work as a fashion photographer but started removing myself from future projects and spending more time traveling to other ranches on my days off.
Then, just a few months later, the world shut down from Covid. It was the perfect opportunity to go all in on this new passion and start over fresh. In August 2020, I decided to sell all of my things and pack what I could fit into my car to move to North Carolina. I loved California, but after thirty years there, it was time for me to go somewhere new, somewhere with the family values and morals in which I was raised.
For three months I lived out of my car, sleeping in various National Parks, and traveled through over thirty states before arriving in North Carolina. During this time, I stopped at various ranches to capture photos and learn more about horsemanship and how to work on horseback.
During my final days on the road before settling into my new home in the Southeast, I worked on my portfolio to transition my career to a fine art photographer. I was always fascinated with the idea of selling artwork for a living and knew that was where I wanted to be.
For the past four years, I have partnered with multiple contemporary art galleries located in Los Angeles, Bozeman, Denver, Aspen, Miami, Charlotte, Greenwich, and Dallas. My work has been displayed in the largest Art Fairs, including Art Miami and other fairs and exhibitions each year. I’ve saved up stories and images from the largest ranches in America for a book I'm currently working on, which will be the biggest collection of ranches ever documented in one book, including the legendary King Ranch and 6666 Ranch, as well as ranches over fifteen other states, including Florida and Hawaii. I want to see my work in galleries and museums all over the world to help share these people's stories.
My main focus is to highlight Western culture and the men and women who represent it. The cowboy has always been an iconic figure but has sometimes been misrepresented or showcased inauthentically through film and television. I have been blessed to be welcomed into this community whose lives are mostly kept private. I’ve made an effort to learn their ways and make sure I'm always offering a hand rather than getting in the way. I've worked alongside them in and out of the saddle across thousands of acres. I’ve sat with them over dinner, slept in spare bedrooms, watched their kids while they were away, created prints for their homes, and more. I may be there to take photos but there are more times I am branding, working horseback, flanking calves, vaccinating, or tending to chores to gain their trust and respect. I am thankful for the life I live and the work I can share with the world. I want to do my best to promote this culture to the rest of the world authentically and honestly. I wouldn't have a career as a Western photographer without these people and I owe them everything.
For anyone else looking to continue on this path, my best piece of advice is to first find out why you want to document it. Secondly, always listen. Find ways to get involved and learn as you go. There is a lot of knowledge required in this line of work and as long as you're taking a genuine interest in it, you'll be further along than most who just want to publicize it. Offer more value than you take from these people, it will go a long way.