How long have you been a photographer, and how are you currently finding inspiration in the craft?
My stepmother was a professional photographer who encouraged me at a very young age and gave me my first film camera when I was about 10. Later in life, I decided to follow a dream to Vail where I had an opportunity to work as an on-mountain photographer. This was about nine years ago where I found my platform to learn how to capture with an incredible group of photographers who also taught me so much along the way. Currently, I find inspiration in so much of what is around me, a dream of living in this beautiful place as well as the people that I have grown so close to who teach me every day. Inspiration expresses itself through opportunities to capture a moment that embodies some sort of emotion. It means everything to me that I may have the chance to communicate through a photograph in this way.
Tell us about this mushroom foraging session — what are some of the types you discovered, and then did you all cook them up?
We went hunting at a spot in Breckenridge mid-August where we found so many beautiful varieties: yellow, white and purple coral, puffballs, turkey tail, porcini, shingled hedgehog, devil’s tooth and a ton of chanterelles, which is what we were out there for. We cooked all of the chanterelles with thyme and butter to complement some dry-aged steaks.
What do you remember about this shoot that stands out to you? What details, like the time of day, lighting, angles, etc., helped you capture such awesome images and highlight the experience of foraging and the art of photography?
This shoot stood out for me specifically, because in preparation for an upcoming photoshoot at a darker restaurant, I decided to bring my flash. To play with flash photography in nature is something that I never really do, because I’m very comfortable with natural lighting. This was a fantastic experience to capture so many beautiful varieties all while working with different lighting techniques!
