My love for photography is in the photos that tell a story, photos that capture every day life, spontaneous reactions and moments that are holding time still for just an instant. Moments shared by families, whether it's a father pushing his daughter on a swing, or a group of siblings giggling as a cat wanders into their lap. I'm talking about family photojournalism. 

I grew up on a dairy farm in Dodge County, Wisconsin. My Mom and Dad have always had an appreciation and love for photos and photography. Living on a farm, there were endless things to take pictures of. 

After high school I traveled north and attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where I continued with my love for photography, studying journalism and taking every photography class that was offered. During that time I also moved out west for a semester and studied photojournalism at the University of Montana-Missoula learning even more about getting those journalistic shots that I love. Out of college I took on a job at a local community newspaper where I wrote articles and took photos along with them, winning several awards. I had the wonderful opportunity to learn from an amazing photographer who worked at the paper. 

For the past five years I have been doing freelance newspaper photography, taking portraits and shooting weddings. Every day I strive to capture the lovely moments of my four young children as they grow. While I also take portraits of our kids, my favorite pictures are the ones of them showing their personality as they are unaware of the camera. I'm talking about unposed, real life moments.

Recently I looked at a photo I have on our wall of our 10-year-old and 9-year-old wrestling in the tall grass when they were just 1 and 2-years-old, completely oblivious to my camera. I feel like that moment was just yesterday and I'm so glad to have that picture.

Those are the photos I want to take for you and your family. While portraits of smiling families are wonderful, family photojournalism tells the real story of love and laughter and life. I hope to help you tell your story.

Photojournalism, Portraiture, Nature/Wildlife, Wedding and Engagement photography based in Fox Lake, WI.