Let me tell you about my journey...

 

I've been outside my entire life. I went on my first backpacking trip when I was 6 years old, went camping every month, if not more often, participated in the boy scouts program actively, and took trips every summer with my parents to various national parks or other outdoor destinations.

 

Now when I was young, I did not appreciate the magic of nature to the extent I do now. I often complained about the length of hikes and "what the heck is the point of all this walking" haha! But as I grew older, I came to appreciate the beauty of mountains, trees, rivers, lakes, waves, wildflowers, and even the dry deserts of Arizona where I grew up.

 

Late in my high school years, I started to become obsessed with taking photos on my phone during hikes or on summer trips with my mom and dad. I continued to do so on a trip with my brother a few months after I graduated. We visited Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Then we ended the trip backpacking to Red Castle Lake in the Uintas. The whole time I kept taking photos with my phone everywhere we went and then, my brother showed me the magic of photo editing. MIND BLOWN. Editing the photos just sparked something within me. I was more obsessed than ever. I had this newfound ability to make photos look so colorful and vibrant (way too much back then, yikes haha) 

 

About a month later I went camping with a buddy of mine and he took a picture of the stars with his GoPro! I'm sorry what?! I didn't even know that was possible so as soon as I got home, I went to google. I researched everything I could about taking a star picture because once again...I was obsessed! Google told me to buy a DSLR camera so that's what I did.

 

In the coming years, I taught myself how to take good photos through a lot of trial and error, practice, and quite a few youtube videos. Those skills and knowledge have slowly evolved into who I am today. A professional adventure photographer who will do anything to get a good photo including making a fire in an igloo in 2-degree weather, standing in a freezing river to get the right angle, braving the heat of the Arizona desert and so much more.

 

I am truly in love with the power of a good photo and I seek to show that every day through my work and my personal passion projects :) 

 

Catch ya in the mountains,

 

- TD