What does it take to become a nature photographer?  Determination.  Patience.  Skill.  Practice. Practice.  Well, at least that is where I started back in 1984. I started by taking a lot of bad pictures.  There are still a few survivors of those 1984 images in my stock files, but not many.  Since then my photography has become the  creative expression in my life.

I was born in 1959 near San Francisco and raised in Gilroy, California, the second of three children. That's right, that Gilroy -  the Garlic Capital of the World.  It was a great place to grow up with great memories and friends.  I played all the sports available:  tennis, baseball, football, golf, soap box derby racing, etc.  My family camped in Yosemite many summers, and at Lake Tahoe in others.  We owned a cabin in the redwood forests of Felton, near Santa Cruz, and spent countless hours playing along the coast.  I graduated from Gilroy High in 1978 and went on the next year to play tennis at Gavilan College.  I joined the LDS Church in1978 and in 1979 I served a 2-year LDS Mission to Montana,  then transferred to BYU upon my return and eventually graduated with a BS degree in Business. 

With no thoughts of a career in photography, a friend and I made a trip to Yellowstone National Park in September 1985.  That trip led to my first published article and photos and an awakening in me of all the feelings I had felt about nature in my youth and teenage years, as well as on my church mission to Montana. In November 1985 I had that first travel photography article published in the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, with four wildlife photos I had taken included with the article.  I was hooked.

From that point on, while my life has detoured in different directions, my overall goal has remained the same.   A life in the mountains and deserts and coasts of the western United States photographing and writing about all I could see and discover.  It didn't matter if I was shooting grizzlies or brides (some might consider them close to the same) I've always wanted to shoot the best images that were possible.  The reality is that brides and families pay better than elk, thus my greatest efforts go into portrait photography - but I've never forgotten my roots as a wildlife/nature photographer.  Those outdoor skills have served me well.  My strengths as a portrait photographer come from understanding light, composition, and balance - skills I learned as a nature photographer.

My wife and our children have all spent countless, adventurous hours with me chasing the ultimate wildlife images in Yellowstone and throughout the west.  Whether wading in tidal pools near Carmel or battling the swarms of mosquitoes at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge - they love to go and have kept that same adventurous spirit alive in their own personal lives.  If my photography has influenced their lives for the better then my career has been successful.  College, church missions, jobs, and marriage have sent them on their different paths - but the memories remain.  If you are reading this brief bio and have enjoyed the images on my website then so much the better.  I'm a lucky man.   BRP