“So firstly, I grew up in the Chattanooga area and was here until college. I went to Middle Tennessee State University and got a B.S. (such a fitting abbreviation to me) degree in Aviation Maintenance Management. After school, I provided aircraft maintenance for airlines in Nashville, and then eventually got a job back in Chattanooga for a maintenance facility down here. I worked there for almost 7 years before deciding to go and do this. It's been two years at the end of this month!

During that time, I found that I really enjoyed taking pictures while hiking and kayaking... I started with a phone, and then a GoPro, and then finally got a DSLR in 2017. Shoutout to the Canon 80D bundle at costco.

I wish I had a good story about what made me take the leap but in reality I was just unhappy in the aviation world for numerous reasons. I was doing really well and I was coming up to a point where I was either going to need to move up, or leave, so I chose the latter. Sometimes things just come together, and I got lucky with where my family and I were in several aspects.”

“Landscape/nature photos are still probably my favorite (on the ground or in the air). Just getting out in the cool morning air with a camera and a warm coffee is just perfect. I've also inherited several film cameras from my grandfather and great-grandfather. I enjoy working with those and love the mechanical aspect of shooting and fixing film cameras.”

“I wouldn't say that I've put myself into a specialty or niche yet. I'm a bit of a jack of all trades right now. Regarding drone photography and videography, I've used it for just about every genre that I've used my camera on the ground for. Weddings, real estate, construction, tourism, hotels, etc. I always try to incorporate it if I feel like an aerial perspective will help tell the story of a project. A lot of clients request it regardless of whether I intended to use it or not. It's a fantastic tool to have.”

“This past year, I've shot a lot of real estate and several weddings. More than I expected to. Two very different fields but I like to mix it up! I've started videography as well so my pricing is all over the place. Almost everything is a custom quote. In general, I price per job based on how many hours I believe that a job will take and what I want to make hourly. It could be a per-job rate, a half-day, or full-day rate. I don't charge anything additional for editing unless there is something substantial that the client is asking for that wasn't intended in the original agreement.

If it's for a charity, sounds like a good portfolio builder, or for a friend, it will probably be discounted. However, I haven't even finished my second year of actually trying to run this as a business so I'm always learning from others and adjusting for what makes sense for me and my clients. The industry varies widely.”

“Compared to most of the local drone operators, I think I stand out because I was into photography before I was flying. A lot of drone operators are precisely that: a drone operator. They got into the drone side of things to inspect infrastructure and take photos of construction sites. They don't care about things like color theory or composition. That's an overgeneralization but my point is that I want my clients to think all of my images are worthy of hanging on a wall, regardless of the subject.

On the flipside, there are a lot of photographers who are more skilled and talented than I am, who don't get into drone photography because they get overwhelmed by the regulations and the technical side of flying a drone. To anyone reading, both the creative aspects and the technical side of things can be taught and learned! If I can do it, you can do it.”

“I want to do more work involving product photography in general, but I'd really like to do some outdoorsy types of products/branding. We have so many pretty spaces that can be utilized for boats, planes, cars, mountain bikes, camping, etc. We have it all in Chatt.

I'd also really like to help with a documentary or an indie film. Something with a good, meaningful story to tell.”