About Me

I originally started as a photographer by getting into drone photography. My successes there led me to look at traditional photography, and Pella was a place literally blossoming with beauty. I spent hours almost every day taking thousands of photos throughout all the seasons. My tulip photos—often taken from an intimate low angle that featured windmills in the background—became popular, and some were featured in publications.

As happened for many people, COVID-19 upended life as I knew it. I was fortunate in that as my primary job I worked in a medical facility in Healthcare IT, so there was no change in my employment or hours. However, COVID-19 was one of the catalysts that prompted deep reflection on my priorities and desires. This inspired me to realize I wanted more from life, and that to reach this more, I would have to actively pursue it and seize opportunities. To do this, I decided to enroll in seminary and work towards a graduate degree. In the process I would receive spiritual formation, have access to the daily liturgical life of the Orthodox Church, and have the space to potentially pursue photography as a full time job. This is how I have come to Tuckahoe, NY and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. There I changed from a landscape photographer to mostly photographing events, people, and Church ceremonies / liturgies.

Church Ceremony Photography

I am an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a seminarian. Although a layman, as a seminarian I am attached to the stavropegial institution of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Orthodox Church in America). As an Orthodox Christian and seminarian, I seek to capture the beauty, special moments, and timeless expression of our faith in our liturgy. Whether I am photographing a special day for you or the life of your parish, I will capture the beauty of the liturgy while remaining reverent. As a seminarian, I have had half a dozen classes on the liturgy, and served in or photographed countless liturgies throughout the church year, of all different sorts, from festal services to hierarchical to Lenten. My sacrament classes have also highlighted the wide variety of traditions that often accompany baptisms and weddings. This background greatly enhances my ability to provide high quality photographic services in an Orthodox context.

Among all the faiths with the Christian label, Orthodoxy should have the keenest understanding of the power of imagery. St. John writes in his First Epistle: “That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have touched, concerning the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). As Orthodox Christians, our faith is spiritual as well as material; our faith involves our whole person. We taste, kiss, bow, touch, smell, and see the stuff and people of our faith. Through our sight we behold the saints, the archangels, the Theotokos, and Christ Himself.  Communicating to us through our sight, the icon becomes a powerful evangelistic witness and teacher of the faith. Similarly, high quality visual media has the chance to draw people into Orthodoxy, not as a replacement for personal experience, but as an evangelistic tool expressing the beauty of the faith reaching, attracting, and drawing in countless potential converts. High quality media has the capacity to draw people in and hopefully make them want to step foot inside a temple. Further, photography can also be used to inspire repentance, service attendance, or the need for prayer among those who are already members of the Body of Christ. Hopefully it is evident both on my website and my Instagram account that I seek to combine both my seminary degree and photography.