About Me

My parents could tell some exasperated stories about my early photographic career. I spent many hours crouched around our cats and dogs, getting shots at all angles and in all types of light. The finer subtleties that I have grown to appreciate in photography didn’t matter back then. Ok, that’s the nice way of putting it. “There are boxes of blurry cat and dog slides!” is the way my parents put it.

I’ve always worked with animals. At the age of 11 I started riding horses. This quickly grew into horse addiction and horse ownership and ruled most of my free time for almost 10 years. I volunteered at the New Milford Animal Welfare Society in Connecticut every weekend for four years in high school and on college breaks for a couple of years. My first real job was as a dog groomer and kennel assistant. Starting in eighth grade I watched surgeries at a small animal clinic and rode with an equine vet on his rounds. These experiences led to a job as a veterinary technician while I was in college.

Speaking of school, I attended Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, Connecticut. It’s a regular ol’ high school except for the fact that it has the best agriculture program in the state, which I was a part of. It shocks many Vermonters to learn that I was able to attend a “flatlander” school where I worked with beef cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, horses, a plethora of small critters. Not to mention the greenhouses and sugaring operation. Oh, and the FFA tractor driving license that I was required to obtain as a freshman.

After high school I planted myself firmly in the north country and attended the University of Vermont. I graduated in 2005 with a B.S. in Animal Science. A pivotal program for me was CREAM (Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management), the student-run dairy at the university. From there I concentrated my studies on dairy and agricultural business. I have been employed for the last 5 years by VT Dairy Herd Improvement Association as a dairy records specialist.

My photographic training comes from many sources. My father and grandfather are both photographers and have provided the foundation for my vision. I have largely taught myself the technical aspects, but various classes and workshops have helped as well. The best “real world” teacher of photography that I’ve had is Gustav Verderber, whose business sense and natural world views have given me much to think about. As a member of the Vermont Professional Photographers I’ll continue to grow artistically and professionally.

From all of these experiences I have gleaned valuable knowledge about working with different animal personalities, especially in new and stressful situations. With camera in hand and a life always devoted to animals I have found a way to work with animals and make people happy.

My always patient and loving husband, Ian, and I reside in Monkton, Vermont with our fiasco of animals. Our 3 dogs, 3 cats, chinchilla, and 7 chickens make us laugh every day.