My earliest memories of photography come from newspapers and from Life magazine – one story with pictures revealing the lives of astronauts sticks with me in particular. My father also saved every copy of National Geographic, and I have vivid and fond memories of that content.
I started learning to take pictures as a kid and when I was in eight grade, I went out and photographed historic landmarks in and around my hometown with a Kodak Brownie camera. I'm sure these early explorations did have an impact, although I was not aware of it at the time.
The assignment that marked me the most was Hurricane Katrina. During the storm, I camped out with the U.S. coastguard in New Orleans and flew on daily rescue missions with various crews. I have covered a lot of natural disasters, and nothing that I have seen can compare to that level of destruction.
I enjoy shooting prime sports very much, and I like covering topics that involve interesting people. I also like it when news stories end well!
My audience is everybody. In this day and age, it seems like everyone has access to photos.
My biggest lesson is simply this: be prepared.
