The Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance promotes and supports collaborative conservation on the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant lands through ecological restoration, education, recreation and research.

Until I get my substitute teaching license I'll be subbing as a paraprofessional. I'm scheduled to begin in early October! I've completed all my training!

In December of 2023 I was put on the News Publishing, Inc. payroll right before they were purchased by Finger Publishing, Inc.. It's a freelance gig and I am usually sent out twice/month to cover special events. The editor usually reserved me for events he wants on the front page, or when he wants a larger photo spread.

I've enjoyed working, and documenting the artistic creations of many artists over the years. I honestly regard it as one of the many subjects that I enjoy photographing the most. Collaborating with artists, spending time in their studios, trying to capture their visions has to be one is pleasurably challenging at times. It's something I don't think I will ever give up as part of my own artistic endeavors.

Almost as soon as I began to use dSLR cameras I began to provide images for use in local tourism. My history as a creative professional lent me an eye towards depicting locations and events in a positive light. While living in Pennsylvania I worked on a many assignments for the state tourism industry. That included not only covering locations across the entire Commonwealth, but also helping to create specific images as laid out by graphic designers for use on covers, or as signature shots for publications.In 2012 we moved to Wisconsin, a place unfamiliar to me. With time and effort I began to produce tourism imagery. At first it was simply covering local events. My eye towards capturing the "romance" of the local eventually led me to being a participant in the regional Marketing Committee. As of this year, while I no longer sit in on Committee meetings, my imagery has effectively branded the local area. in my samples below you'll find a link to the 2019 local event guide, of which I provided nearly all of the photos.

I'm not sure exactly how to classify this type of work that I enjoy. "Sports photographer" isn't enough because that means just capturing the action. I actually participate in the action, often training alongside my subjects. Martial arts and fitness training has changed my life. I've become immersed in a very intense training culture. As an artist I have spent my lifetime honing my creative skills. Learning to utilize that in a very physical way has made "art" tangible to me. The dedication. The practice. The either being something or not. There are very small margins between being an elite athlete and being just a hobbyist. Understanding that struggle to push through all the pain and self doubt has lent me an eye to capturing that element. In fact it's taken me from just photographing local gyms to being part of a state-wide athletics organization, namely the Wisconsin Golden Gloves.

I’ve occasionally been contracted to take photos of various products and objects. For me it’s always an exciting challenge as I enjoy trying to capture the textures and shapes of the subject.

As a competent photographer that had been trained by photo journalists I eventually found myself covering weddings. At first I was reluctant to do so but one of my mentors at the time, National Geographic photographer Lynn Johnson, gave me the best advice I ever received when it comes to capturing weddings. While I can't remember her exact words it was essentially, "Go into each wedding with an eye towards capturing the unique 'culture' and beauty of each union." With that aim in mind I found weddings to be one of the most enjoyable of all my photographic ventures.

I provide photographic coverage for the Wisconsin Golden Gloves, an organization aimed at promoting sportsmanship and hard work ethics through amateur boxing. I not only photograph the athletes but I also train alongside them. In June of 2019 I traveled with the State Team to the Golden Gloves National Tournament of Champions. I'm very proud to say we came back with a National Champion who went on to make the Team USA 2020 Olympic squad. Unfortunately the 2020 Covid Pandemic shut it all down.

It's a very NEW museum with complete collections and archives, and exhibits! My new role is to offer my creative services in what ways I can. I lend them my photography skills on occasion. What I truly enjoy though is when they pick my brain about any exhibit ideas they have. It's been many years since I have left the Carnegie Museum but I miss that sort of work. This helps give me my "Exhibits Artist Fix" and I am thankful.

Deer Park Buddhist Center is a nearby Tibetan Buddhist monastery and Temple. I never expected to find the Wisdom of Tibet here in Wisconsin but here we are. My relationship with the Monks is a little different than most. I first randomly found my way there in February of 2016. His Holiness the Dalia Lama happened to be coming and they were cleaning the Temple that very day. I stayed an helped and was invited to great His Holiness. After that I began to spend a lot of time at the Temple. Not in it, Not attending teachings. Just going there to walk the grounds, circle the Stupa a few times and to think, calm down. I did so three times or more/week for nearly a year before actually speaking to anyone. In fact I rarely saw a soul.As time passed I began to help with the grounds in anyway I could. While I enjoyed laboring there it was a long drive and the economics of it weren't feasible. (This is why I now labor at the Cave of the Mounds one day/week. It keeps me "connected" to the Earth.) They eventually learned of my photography work, and after a few simple assignments I began covering their major events, namely when the most revered Teachers come to Wisconsin. Somehow I have become "of" the Temple without actually being a practicing Buddhist, though I do adhere to many of their ethical values. This is a totally un-paid position but it may be my most dear aside from being a Father & Husband to my wife. The Tibetan Community, while not large in this region, has to be one of the most gracious and accepting that I have ever met. I feel Blessed.

• Provide commercial photography services for use in advertising for a variety of products, productions and manufactures in the Pittsburgh and Madison areas. • Provide leasing of imagery for use in publications from educational to commercial use.• Provide high-end wedding photography services limited to ten sessions per year in order to provide excellent service. • Provided stock and assignment photography services to Miles Media for use by the Pennsylvania State Travel Agency. I both leased images as well as covered events for publications and information displays across the state.• Provided photography services to various performers offering both studio and live performance imagery.

***Wormfarm failed to secure the grants needs to pay my wages.***Primary Responsibilities Include:Serve as the primary contact for juried and invited DTour artists, answering questions and supporting & coordinating on-the-ground artists’ needs. Problem-solve and support installation of DTour artworks.Support DTour Map Stops which could include coordinating with local businesses and other collaborators to ensure successful inclusion on the route.Secure and coordinate equipment and venue rentals & supplies.Work with the Director of Special Projects on DTour logistics and to coordinate, install, and de-install DTour components, including signage & tenting. Coordinate DTour photo & video documentation and create a short DTour documentary for use on social media and other Wormfarm channels. Support the Witwen Park Discovery Process in ways to be determined in the spring of 2024.Provide marketing, fundraising, and other administrative support as needed.

I spent the spring & summer of 2023 as a seasonal laborer doing restoration & preservation of various wetland projects. Various tasks included conducting prescribed burns, applying herbicides on undesirable vegetation, collecting wildlife for relocation, brush cutting, and planting of live plants. I earned the following certifications in order to perform this job.Certifications in Aquatic & Mosquito (Cat. 5.0) & Right of Way & Natural Areas (Cat. 6.0) valid until April 30th, 2028Certificate of Training: Wildlands Fire Training to NWCG Standards - S-190, S-130, L-180 - February of 2023

I truly am at a loss for words when it comes to describing my experience employed at this job. I am not known for being a very negative person, or for sharing bad experiences but this particular instance only deserves brutal honesty. Hands down, this was the worst experience as an employee.To begin it was always unsafe. The vehicle I was issued was not designed for either the weather or terrain. The Metris is a rear wheel drive van, with no real weight over the axle. Its brakes were always faulty, and I had them go completely out twice in less than a year. The first time the Postmaster’s response when I called to inform them I had no brakes was, “Can you at least finish the route?” I was often forced to drive it with no treads on the tires on snow covered backroads. The final straw for me was after having caught covid on NYE 2023. I was out for the prescribed five days then forced to work eleven days in a row with no respite, sometimes up to twelve hours/day. I thought I was truly going to die. I felt so ill. Meanwhile, our union rep was calling off for weeks on end during the peak holiday season and then posting on local social media forums like she was out there working and reaping praise from the community.I have never, and will never again, work for such an unprofessional and unsafe employer. On the plus side it gave me the courage to bet on myself and seek a job that I believe will satisfy my soul.

I spent nine months as a City Carrier in Mount Horeb, the town within which I've lived for twelve years. I was also basically a "fill in" carrier without a specific route. Instead I covered the "Regular" carriers and a smaller "AUX" route. It was a very interesting, physically demanding job. I walked many miles nearly everyday carrying the mail and packages. Thankfully I spent so much time training with the athletes you can see in my earlier work. Having worked in the arts all my career it felt like a huge relief to not have to utilize my creative skills. While this job required I use my mind and body, my creativity wasn't "employed." This allowed me to focus that energy on my personal artwork. Of course, the nature of the job meant I didn't have a lot of physical or mental energy left over at end of the day. It was one of the more unique experiences in my life, certainly one I have enjoyed. In fact, it's helped me focus on just about everything in life. I also learned that I am still good at interacting with the public. Having worked on my own for so long in my previous life I sometimes forget that I am actually really "good" with people. My role as a daily connection to the world for certain shut-in customers was special. I was proud to wear the USPS uniform.

As an artist I have found inspiration from nature my entire life. It's why I sought a place as a creative specialist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. To that end it's why I toiled at the Cave of the Mounds. I spent one day/week there laboring on and under the land. I helped keep the Cave in as natural and pristine state as humanly possible, and I helped fight back the invasive plants that have overrun the surface. There are roughly thirty acres of land, most of which was once a night pasture for the original farmstead. What had been a native Oak Savannah was fenced in along with it's great oaks. They stood sentinel over the cattle for many decades but with the discovery of the Cave the pasture was soon abandoned. Left on it's own it became a tangle of Prickly Ash, Buckthorn, Garlic-Mustard and a slew of other plants. A number of years ago, staff there began to make concerted efforts in eliminating some of these invasives. When I learned of this I knew I needed to go there to help. It was like a vast, living diorama to me. While I was there only one day/week I tried to focus on very key areas. For instance one day I decided to clear around an old prairie oak. This massive tree was invisible from the old trail that was only thirty yards from it. I carefully cut out nearly forty-odd smallish invasive tress from under it's branches without trampling the undergrowth. At the end of day tourists began to stop and take photos of the tree and it's setting. That made my very sweaty efforts so worth it! Especially when I came back to work the next week to find the management pushed through with the new trail system, connecting to the very spots I've been shaping.

Creative/Multimedia Coordinator (1998 to 2007)• Coordinated the production of PaleoLab graphics, interactive film and interactive computer production. This included UBB forum, live web cams and touchscreen interface.• Coordinated with Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute/Mobot in the development of two autonomous robotic tour guides. (These were the first of their kind.)• Coordinated the activities of designers, programmers, writers and multimedia specialists. This in turn produced exhibit components such as graphics, movies and interactives as well as proposals for exhibits.• Produced, directed and edited films & audio shows for various projects and exhibitions.• Established fully operational in-house multimedia/graphics production capabilities.• Established relationships with various outside corporations and institutions including "inter-programs" with local universities.• Recruited and managed a large pool of regional freelance talent.• Developed interactive games and exhibits.Preparator I (1993 to 1998)• Fabricated and installed permanent and temporary exhibits.• Constructed dioramas including the African Wildlife Hall, the Alcoa Hall of American Indians and the North American Mammal Hall.• Coordinated production crews.• Painted exhibit halls. Prepared "Installation and Condition Reports" for all temporary art shows.• Refurbished Galleries.• Fabricated mounts for artifacts to be displayed in a variety of exhibits.

• Managed the design, fabrication and installation of scenic sets, exhibits and trade shows for film, TV and display.• Managed office and support staff.• Involved in financial, marketing and strategic decision making process.

• Assisted in the fabrication of specialty props, awards and dioramas for film, commercial photographers and marketing agencies.• Maintained the shop and office.