During the course of my life, my Dad has been a pastor at three different Baptist churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Under my parents’ guidance, prayer, and testimony, I too came to an understanding of my sin in God’s eyes and its condemning consequences of separation from God forever. There was no work or religious act I could do to merit my forgiveness and a place in heaven. Instead as a young boy I made my personal decision to put my trust in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone, for salvation from my sin. This commitment to God has become a blueprint for every decision that I still make today.
In junior high I wrote, directed, and filmed my own episodes of The Little Rascals. A family move in 1998 altered my life and gave me plenty of time to analyze and imitate the BBC animated series Wallace and Gromit. By the time I graduated from high school in 2002, I had spent thousands of hours creating three short stop-motion films lasting a total running time of fourteen minutes. This creative appetite sparked in me a desire for learning the power of visual storytelling which led to my photography and business minors at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College. My goal in college was to use the desires and talents God had given me in video and photography career. At this point I still did not know of how God would use me and my talents to create for His glory.
After graduating from Pillsbury in 2006, my wife and I started Milky Way Photography, a freelance wedding and portrait business. Pillsbury offered me a position teaching photography while pursuing a photography graduate degree. In the fall of 2008, I began my MFA Photography degree at the Academy of Art University. Due to the poor economy, Pillsbury closed after the fall semester. For the following spring semester, the Lord graciously allowed me to be employed by Maranatha Baptist University to teach photography and videography. Given the content of the video and media classes I was to teach, Maranatha’s Academic Dean recommended I switch to the MA Multimedia Communications degree. In 2011, I completed my MA while taking three photography classes, hoping someday I would have the opportunity to complete my MFA Photography degree. Since completing my MFA Photography degree in 2017, I am happy to be still growing further in my photography abilities and am confident that I am a better teacher to my students and for the Lord’s glory.