I worked in the tech industry and had a good future ahead of me. But when my second daughter was born, my wife and I decided that we didn’t want other people raising our kids. Her professional trajectory was more solid than mine, so I quit my job and stayed home with my girls.

Growing up, I was always the guy who had a camera. Not all the time, but a good amount of the time. This was before everyone had a camera in their pocket, like today. Most of my pictures growing up were snapshots. It wasn’t until 1999 that a couple of friends urged me to get a “real” camera and take photography seriously.

My girls are young adults now and they don’t need me daily anymore. And it turns out, I’m a dinosaur now as far as the tech industry is concerned. So I decided to become a full time photographer.

The past few years have taught me to see beauty where it never existed before. Instead of jetting off to places unknown, I’ve learned to appreciate the beauty that surrounds me. A simple tree in a meadow. A rock on a dry lake bed. Things we see and pass by everyday, but failed to appreciate.