I am an environmental landscape photographer, focusing on the human relationship with the natural world. My photographs direct the viewer to once natural sites, questioning civilization's use of the land.
For the past few years, I have been working on the project The Forest. Once prairie, this land was influenced by the landscape architect and activist Jens Jensen in the late 1800's. It was the Kelly estate and prominent arts and crafts architect Howard Van Doren Shaw built their family home here along Green Bay Road. After the Kelly's residency the land was divided, the immediate property around the estate became a church and later turned into a hotel and conference center. Though it was privately owned, the property was a communal space, seamlessly adjacent to the forest behind. It was where kids would play, people would run with their dogs and many would whatch the feeding deer. Presently this land is being developed into an upscale retirement housing commuinity. The wooded prairie behind and adjacent to the Kelly home had been donated to the Lake County Forest Preserve. The land was left alone, becoming a beautifully tangled forest; rich with the historical artifacts left behind from the past. Currently, the Lake Bluff Open Lands Association has been allowed to manage this area, restoring it to its 19th century prairie state. Having grown up next to these woods, I hold a great connection to this land.
In late 2007 I finished the project Now and Real. Photographing in a topographic style, the project captures the everyday urban and rural relationship humans have with the natural world. It observes the life of natural animate and inanimate beings among contemporary human influenced areas.
Native to Illinois, I received my BFA from Columbia College of Chicago in 2008 and have exhibited work in many group exhibitions. I am currently pursuing my work on The Forest project and making a book for the surrounding community. Its purpose is to keep the rich history of the land's past alive and create awareness in preservation of its future.