Big Bend N.P., Texas. Photo by Marc Hamel.

I was born in West Virginia in 1981 and raised there by my mother, an English teacher, and father, a businessman. I attended Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, and received a B.A. in print journalism. During college, I worked four years at the student newspaper, part-timed and interned as a photographer at the Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, and freelanced for The Associated Press state bureau. After graduation, I worked stints as a reporter and then a photographer at newspapers in Charleston, West Virginia, and central Florida, respectively. I then attended The University of Texas at Austin, where I received a M.A. in documentary photojournalism, completing a project on family and community struggle in southern West Virginia.

After graduating in 2007, I took a position as an assistant professor at Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications, where I taught advertising and print design.

In June 2008 at the Good News Mountainer Garage Gallery in Charleston, I had a solo exhibition of my photographs of southern West Virginia entitled "Left Alone: The Fear and Pride of Isolate Appalachia." Later that year, images from that project were featured in a group show at the Hansford Street Art Exhibit and Buswater Exhibiti in Charleston.

Now based back in Austin, Texas, I continue to work as a freelance photographer and graphic designer in the region, and also plan to pursue new social justice projects. I spend my free time eating good food, watching film, supporting the Manchester United Football Club, and participating in various athletic activities such as soccer, cycling and basketball.

I am available for hire for photography (portrait, fashion, commercial, wedding, documentary) and design (advertising, promotional, invitation, product). I can be reached here.