Duration: Two years shooting professionally; five years prior to that as a photo editor.

Staff: One.

Education: BFA in art photography from Syracuse University.

Cultural Influences: Growing up in the country: the landscapes, the details, the integrity of the people, the quiet and the utter stillness; reading cookbooks, cooking and eating; Cartier-Bresson and 'the decisive moment'; paintings by the Dutch Masters; the farm to table movement.

Environment: I shoot both in studio and on location, traveling quite a lot throughout the year. I really enjoy the mix of traveling light and working with a limited set of equipment (as with travel stories) and then coming home after being away for a while to a few days in a well-equipped studio where I don't have to forage for my lunch. I also like the balance of working independently on travel jobs (with only my assistant) and the creative teamwork that goes into art directed shoots. The paperwork and editing goes on in an office in my apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that thankfully has lots of lovely daylight.

Philosophy: Trust your gut, shoot what you love, be kind, don't leave if you don't think you got the shot.