ABOUT ME

I am dependable, creative, and honest. I hold true to the things I believe in, and am always willing to learn. The most important things in my life are my friends and family. I also love to cook, and I'm really good at it, however, don't ask me to bake anything. As a vegetarian, meat entrees are not on my menu. I love people, as a documentary photographer, people are what intrigues me the most. I am always searching for what is better, in the sense of improving something I believe to be broken. I believe in the truth more than anything else, it is a value that is uncompromisable, and as a photographer, it is my mission to convey that in all of my work. I enjoy things that are fun and interesting, and I like people who are fun and interesting.

PHILOSOPHY

Being a photographer is seeing the world through a lens.

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

To make friends while exploring this beautiful world as economically as possible. I enjoy making lasting connections with like minded or not so like minded people. I believe that friendship is the greatest thing we have to offer one another.

Interessen

Photography, making photographs, realism, art, learning new things, reading a good book, things that are old, resale stores, people, live music, new music, social change, animal rights, cooking, coffee, good movies, and my hot yoga practice.

The darkroom is my zen place. I like to spend as much time there as I can. When I am not making photographs or developing them, I collaborate with some other artist friends of mine, we are currently preparing for a show next month. We have a museum club as well, where we all meet at the Art Institute downtown about twice a month at most, look at the art and then talk about what we have seen that day. My work has not afford me the luxury of playing my bills yet, so in addition to going to school, I also work at a restaurant as a server. I am extremely busy, yet I work best under pressure. when I have the time, which is not often, I attend a hot yoga class.

• animals
• arts
• culture
• books
• photography
• documentaries
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• vegetarian
• yoga
• clubbing
• clothing
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• cars
• socializing
• music
• live music
• mountains

Musik, Filme und Bücher

Too many to list here... Lets talk more.

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

One moment that comes to mind, which eventually lead to some of my US travel experiences, is my very first Phish show. I was fifteen. I went with some friends I had met, who lived in Naperville. They happened to have an extra ticket, and invited me to come along. We drove up to Alpine Valley, in Wisconsin. Seeing the "lot" and what goes on there was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was blown away. People selling food, tickets, clothing, jewelry, drugs. The said items were also bartered and traded for other said items. I fell in love with the lifestyle. I began seeing as many shows as I could, and traveled as much as often as possible. Living in and out of cars, making macramé jewelry for selling and trading, meeting people, seeing live music, and having some awesome and not so awesome mind altering experiences, the list goes on. During that time, was privileged enough to learn about life in such a way that most people are never awarded. Granted, I am older now, and have grown out of all the things I did in my late teens and early twenties, but the urge to go places is something I took with me, and will have my whole life, and it all goes back to that hot summer day, when I was fifteen. That one experience helped me become the person that I am today.

The next experience that comes to mind, was the first time I realized I wanted to be a photographer. It was one of those things that comes to you when you're making toast or something. I was riding in the car with my friend Jonathan, I was about seventeen, at that time he was taking photo classes at the College of DuPage. He saw pre visualized the photo in his mind, and had to pull over. He took that picture and was just going on and on about how wonderful it was as he kept exposing. I knew I wanted to experience what he experienced. Being a National Geographic photographer was always a dream of mine, but when I was in high school I wanted to own an indie coffee house. Then one day, I realized, if my dream job is to be a photographer, then I should be a photographer. That day in the car with Jonathan helped me come to that realization.

The final thing, going out of the country the first time. I went to Morelia, Mexico. It is located in the heart of Michuacaan, up in the mountains. It was not Cancun, or some other resort. It was true and honest Mexican culture. We traveled one day to the town of Patscuaro, a tiny tiny rural village. I was hungover as shit, but it was amazing. Seeing "the market" was my favorite part, it was similar to a farmers market by American standards, yet it was the only market these people had. They sold everything there, clothes, food, toiletries, It was an old town, and I would love to return. Also, while in Morelia, since it was a college town, there were subcultures there that are the same here in the states, but I found it fascinating to see those same subcultures in a culture that was foreign to myself. It taught me that subculture has no boundaries. It was something that changed the way I see the world.

Was ich mit Gastgebern teilen kann

I enjoy talking, about art, philosophy, sustainable living, music, film etc. I am a photographer. I don't eat meat, but I enjoy cooking. I prefer to cook with or for others rather than cook for just myself.

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, United States

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

United States