First thing: I go by T.J. But that just didn’t sound as professional.
Plus, trying to get a web address with periods in the middle proved difficult. But seriously, I’ve been called by my initials since the day I was born. It stuck. I use them and you should too. Pretty please?
I like to create.
I’ve loved photography my entire life. It was a passion long before it was my profession. But after taking as many high school and college photography classes as I could, I was sure it should be my career. My first job as a photographer had me photographing BMX bicycle riders for an international company based in Fort Worth Texas. That was 1996. Man, that job was fun! I rode BMX back then so that job was pretty much a dream come true. I was getting paid to document a sport I loved and getting my images in national publications and advertisements. It was fantastic!
But like so many things in life, it couldn’t last forever. I moved back home to Virginia and had several jobs as a graphic designer (which were also incredibly cool) before finally going back into photography full-time again several years later. My love of design and advertising combined with my photographic background landed me in a spot as an assistant to a commercial photographer. I was combining two things that I loved intensely: advertising and photography.
It wasn’t long before I ventured out on my own and started shooting photos for businesses and advertising agencies. I loved it! My work ended up in national publications, on websites and in all sorts of printed material. I even won a few awards!
After a while, I realized that I enjoyed photographing people most of all. Whether sharing a photo session with a high school senior or a beautiful bride, I’m in my element when I can interact with my subjects on a personal level. Every session is a new experience and with every session, I make new friends.
I love my dog.
His name is Mozzie. He’s a Blue Heeler and a well-trained agility dog. He has blue ribbons and everything. He’s also an AKC K-9 good citizen. He herds my cats a little more than I like, but he’s still a good boy. Oh, and he hates it when I rake leaves. I swear he wants to KILL that rake. I’m not sure why. And when I ask him to give me a kiss, he licks my ear.
I dig VWs.
I love Volkswagens. New ones. Old ones. Even ones that aren’t quite new but aren’t quite old either. Actually, those are my favorites. I make them look good. I lower them. I make them fast. I whisper sweet nothings into their side mirrors. Wait, I probably should have kept that last one to myself.