I haven't always been into photography. I haven't always been into music either. It wasn't until I was in high school that I became interested in playing an instrument (thanks to a couple of good friends who wanted to start a band), and years after that until I was interested in writing songs and singing them. More about that some other time, perhaps.

Some have called me a "late bloomer". Fair enough assessment I suppose. I'm probably more tortoise than hare. One thing I have always been very meticulous and obsessive about is the craft of a medium. Let's use legos for an example. Through birthdays, holidays, and well timed shirt tugs with the parentals at various department stores, I collected a massive amount of lego blocks and pieces, enough to mostly fill a rectangular 55 gallon storage tub that I would keep in my closet. There was no organizing of the individual pieces, it was just a huge plastic pool of parts. In fact, if I remember correctly I would just dump any new lego sets straight from the package into the box. For years it grew, becoming something more than an inanimate bunch of toy parts. It became a form of therapy. To build, to search for the right part, no matter how long it took. The very act of running my hands through the plastic waters would sometimes put me into a trance of sorts, and I would forget that I was even looking for a piece. I would just enjoy the tactile experience against my fingers, and the harsh, whooshing sound of plastic on plastic, which I'm sure drove my mom crazy at times. I would pretend I was a giant, pick up a handful and thrust it towards the sky, spilling the stew through my fingers and laughing maniacally. Then of course I would shrink back into a little boy, and carry on searching for that blue three peg flat single to complete my space wing.

I've been really lucky to have amazing and thoughtful parents who recognized when I was interested in something creative at a young age and would provide simple tools for developing that particular medium or activity. I've been lucky meeting and working with amazing and generous people along the way who have helped me work towards and realize goals, and hone skills over time. What I create and produce is not in a vacuum, and I take none of it for granted. Luck cannot do the required work for you, however. And the work is everything. When I post an image today, the work behind it stretches back more than a decade. It's the not-so-secret secret behind any quality work.

A brief history: I think it was in 2004 that I received my first camera as a gift from my family at Christmas. It was a Sony Cyber-shot point and shoot. One of the earlier digital cameras. Before that fateful day, I had spent a few years working in a photo lab at Costco, where I would develop rolls of film using chemicals, negative trimmers, and large print machines. Invaluable information, even though at that point I wasn't actually into photography as a practice. But it would help to create a solid base of knowledge. I took the Sony everywhere with me, and I loved it. The shape and size were conducive to most pockets, and it's little wrist strap was perfect for tucking it away in my palm. The stature of this camera dictated in a way the style that I still enjoy shooting today. Candids, street photography, and the hundreds of moments that maybe slip by unnoticed throughout any given day. It was the colors the camera would inherently capture that really caught my eye. The vibrancy was pleasing to me, and in a way it reminded me of the colors in my box of legos. I don't think I would quite put that together for years afterwards, but today it seems crystal clear. It was something I could do and enjoy as an adult, and the capture, cropping, and editing of a photograph were my new plastic parts. I was obsessed then, and I am even more so today. I've upgraded cameras a few times over, but my love for Sony still remains. One of my main cameras is the Alpha 6000, and is not much bigger in body than that original Cyber-shot, which helps me maintain my active style of shooting. I do use my larger Canon, and sometimes my iPhone for certain shots as well, but I'm always partial to my first love. I've included a couple of early shots from this camera below.

Somewhere on the way to Arizona during the "Short Bus Tour".

So today I take one more step in my photographic journey. It feels big to me, a rite of passage or something like that. I've had prints made before, I've even sold a couple over the years, but I've never put the focus on it, so to speak. After touring for a few years with Grizfolk, and having opportunities to shoot in so many wildly different situations and locations, I've amassed a colorful and diverse collection of photographs that I'm really stoked on, and proud of.

After years of gentle urging, and increasing requests for prints, I've finally taken it seriously and I'm opening an online fine art print store, right here on this site. When you're done here, hit the FINE ARE PRINTS tab.

I've started modestly for now with a mix a few of my recent favorites and a couple that have resonated well with you online. There are tens of thousands to dig through (mostly crap no doubt), and that's something I will be doing in the coming months, possible featuring sets, or series, or single shots.. To be quite honest, I'm not sure yet. Gonna feel it out as I go. Most importantly, it's up and running! Please do have a look, send feedback, share with someone who might like one, give a print as a gift to someone, anything you feel comfortable with. I welcome your thoughts on the shots, and the store/idea as a whole. There's bound to be some hiccups and glitches, but I think I've ironed out most of them in past week. If you see anything strange, please do let me know. I've been pretty nervous to take this step for a while, as I have many good friends who are amazing pro photographers and I'm frankly in awe of their work and dedication. But the time is right, so here we go. Thank you for taking the time to read and have a look. I know time and clicks are precious, and I mean to always make it worth yours.

- B