I picked up my first camera in a high school photography class. I signed up for photography to dodge having to take a science class to fulfill my requirements for graduation. Go figure, the photography class was in the science building. I stayed in photography throughout high school because it was an easy "A". Finally something besides water polo and swimming where I received top recognition. My photography teacher inspired me to try new creative camera and darkroom techniques, rewarding with praise and another "A". I became a school newspaper and yearbook photographer. My parents fostered my interest, buying me an SLR 35mm camera, and building a darkroom in our garage.

I attended Cypress Junior College majoring in photography. I worked in camera stores for a few yearss, then as a photographer with several large senior portrait studios.

In 1979, my wife, Shawna, and I moved from Southern California to the redwoods of Sonoma County to raise our children, Mariah and Shay. Throughout the 1980's, I studied with renound members of the Camera Craftsmen of America each year, honing my portraiture techniques.

Opening Studio Jay in 1986, I continue to enjoy the evolution of photography, especially the current trends of web-based and cutting edge digital workflow.