Editorial
Need a Wisconsin-based freelance journalist?
Contact me for on-the-ground perspectives and memorable images. I studied journalism and photojournalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and worked as a newspaper photographer and reporter in Montana right after college. I've since worked as a freelance writer and photographer, and I have professional camera gear and portable studio lighting. I'm particulary interested in covering topics related to politics, social justice, science, nature, and the environment.
PUBLISHED ARTICLES: ENVIRONMENT AND NATURE
RECENT EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
PASSION PROJECT: A PLACE TO CALL HOME
Back when I was a budding photojournalist, I wrote an actual pen-and-paper letter to National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore. I asked him for advice on keeping my work fresh and staying true to myself when my job at the newspaper always involved other people's priorities.
To my amazement, he actually wrote back! He gave me some great advice: "Always have a personal project."
I'm ashamed to say I didn't follow his advice until much later. Life intervened: I got married and had kids, and I put my personal interests on the shelf.
But now I feel those interests blossoming again, and I'm grateful that I have the time and the ability to tell important stories that are too often ignored. That was the driving force behind my desire to interview and photograph local residents for a special exhibition at our local museum. I worked in collaboration with the museum director, who pulled objects from the museum's collection to highlight immigrants' contributions to our community in the past.
“A Place to Call Home: Newcomers to Fort Atkinson" offered a unique opportunity for our community to build connections through historic and current residents’ portraits and stories. Attendees learned why people have moved to Fort Atkinson over the years and why they stayed, from the desire to escape violence and the aftermath of war, to youthful curiosity, to the pursuit of the American Dream. They also learned about policy roadblocks that are standing in the way.