The Bridges of Madison County: The Roseman Covered Bridge in Winterset, Iowa.

The Hasselblad 907X Special (Moon) Edition

Hello, and thanks for stopping by!

I'm an amateur photographer (emphasis on amateur) living and working in Manhattan, New York City. Growing up, I never had a particular interest in photography, though I have a faint memory of my dad using his Fed-2—the Soviet Leica—from the late 1960s to capture family moments.

Why Photography?

For me, photography is more than just taking pictures—it's about exploring the world, meeting people from all walks of life, and immersing myself in new experiences. It has pushed me in ways I never imagined, from waking up in the middle of the night to drive long distances for a sunrise shot to braving the freezing winds of Death Valley to capture star trails. Ironically, if I had put half as much effort into my career as I have into photography, who knows where I'd be!

How It Began

I bought my first camera, an Olympus film point-and-shoot, when I arrived in the U.S. in 2000. It was a way to document my university days in Baltimore and share glimpses of my life with my parents back home. That was followed by an HP digital camera and, eventually, the Nikon D70—the first truly affordable DSLR for amateurs—around 2004.

I never took formal photography classes or read books on the subject. Instead, my passion grew naturally, thanks in part to my friend Karin Foster, whose father was a professional photographer in Berkeley, California. She introduced me to the work of Ansel Adams, which deeply inspired me. I still remember using my Nikon to capture cherry blossoms in D.C. and Fourth of July fireworks.

More recently, I’ve taken workshops focused on night and street photography—particularly star trails and the Milky Way. Around 2021, I also started experimenting with videography, teaching myself basic Premiere Pro editing techniques through YouTube tutorials.

What's in My Camera Bag?

I reluctantly moved on from my Nikon D70 to a Canon full-frame DSLR in 2012, which served me well for nearly a decade. For years, I wasn’t obsessed with gear—photography was always about the subject and the experience. But in the past few years, I have to admit, I’ve gone down the gear rabbit hole! I’ve bought and sold a few cameras, including the Leica Q2 and Canon R5C.

Right now, my kit includes a Hasselblad 907X (Special "On the Moon" Edition) and a Leica Q3.