I have always been a photographer, as was my father, grandfather, and great grandfather—their cameras sit in my studio—their legacy inspires me.  I spent 34 years in the Army, survived the September 11th, 2001, attack on the Pentagon and an additional fifteen years in the same building.  I spent nearly three years deployed in Afghanistan.  My brain, body and soul were broken… a friend had recently committed suicide… I felt as though I was next… a tough Veterans Administration counselor suggested I look to the past for inspiration. My mind jumped to a recent motorcycle trip I took around the country with my camera hung around my neck after my last deployment to Afghanistan.  I took thousands of photographs, often at speed of anything that caught my eye. People along the trip asked what I was doing in November on my motorcycle in the Rockies, Yosemite or Death Valley; I told them I had just come back from Afghanistan and had to get away. They seemed to understand that I needed to heal, even though I did not understand it at the time. I shared the raw photographs with strangers along the way, they were captivated. Flashing back to the counselor’s idea of looking to the past for inspiration, I thought of my families’ love of photography, and I knew my path forward was through the lens.   Since 2018, I have dedicated myself to photography, honing my art into a style that captures the extraordinary in the ordinary, and … healing.