One day while perusing a thrift store, I found a copy of the 1977 Audubon Field Guide to North American Birds. I had been curious about a blackbird I had often seen driving a stretch of land between Arkansas and Tennessee for years. These jet black birds flash bright red and yellow as they across the road, from fencepost to fencepost. I immediately bought the book and after some digging, discovered the bird in question was a Red-Winged Blackbird, quite common in the South. What shocked me was that almost every single bird I came across thereafter was equally colorful and interesting, if one took the time to stop and notice.

Over the past few years, I have combined my love of nature with my love of photography. I remember working shifts at the grocery store as a teenager to save up for my Nikon D3100, an entry-level DSLR. Now, I use a larger lens and a better camera, but my goal is the same: to immortalize those moments of beauty in life that we are often to busy to notice.

I have spent the past 7 years at the University of Memphis getting my PhD in clinical psychology studying human behavior and decision making related to addiction. I love my job, but photography reminds me to stop for a moment and pay attention to what is happening around me. Follow me on my journey!