BIOGRAPHY

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Some of my earliest memories are of watching the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and old Sea Hunt episodes with my Mom and I always thought it would be cool to learn how to dive. On my open water certification in 2005, I remember sitting at 50 feet underwater in Nellie’s Cove outside Port Orford, Oregon, watching rockfish underwater and thinking I was stupid for not learning how to dive earlier. In any case, I eventually gained my Divemaster certification (December 2014) and I haven’t turned back. 

I grew up around a professional photographer as my father was a photojournalist and then later got more into art photography, so I was well used to the smell of orbit bath and knowing not to open the door when the red light was on. I started out taking pictures topside on a Nikon FG-20 and learned how to develop B&W film in my Dad’s lab. 

In 2007, I added a point and shoot camera to the diving mix and for the first 5 years took a lot of crappy pictures… however I eventually got to the point where I made a large investment in my camera equipment as my diving skills improved and now I take a lot of pretty OK pictures (my opinion). I now shoot a Nikon D500, housed in a Nauticam, with two Sea and Sea DS2 strobes. I shoot Tokina and Nikkor lenses. For fun I shoot a GoPro hero 8 as a “sidecar”.

 I love to travel, and although 90% of my 600+ dives have been in cold water, I do treat myself with a warmwater trip to a foreign locale every now and then (although I usually annually dive Florida as my in-laws reside there). I also became a certified level 5 REEF surveyor so I am usually surveying marine life whilst I am diving.

I live with my husband and son in Salem, Oregon, which alas is landlocked. Although my family are certified non-divers, I have a lot of wonderful dive friends that I am always having fun and adventures with. I do have a BS in fisheries biology with a focus on inland freshwater fisheries. I currently am gainfully employed (for almost 25 years) by the a state agency where I am the field coordinator for a mitigation program that purchases property for wildlife conservation in the Willamette valley. This is a fun job that takes me all over the valley and I am learning lots of new information about wildlife and the types of habitat they need to prosper in a rapidly urbanizing landscape.

ACCOLADES

  • PADI certified Divemaster #354750

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | 2019 Habitat Photo Contest | Photo Contest Winner | Category: Underwater Habitats

  • Association for Conservation | 2018 National Award | First Place | Photography: Flora & Fauna

  • PNWDiver Magazine | 2015 Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest | Competition Winner

  • Digital Underwater Photography Instructor

HIRE ME

Looking to hire me for your underwater photography project, host me as a guest teacher, or order prints? Head over to my INQUIRIES PAGE.