I started Stonedam Island Media about four years ago, I was recently diagnosed with a kind of blood cancer called CLL/SLL and it immediatly became pressing to me to pursue something personal and artistic. At first I was shooting climbing in northern NH with a friend of mine, but it quickly evolved into much more. These days I shoot mainly portraits on film, call me a pretentious ass, but I still hold firm in art being best done in a physical form. I of course shoot digital for practical purposes, but when a shot really means something to me, I do my best to get it on film. I went to a trade school for traditional wooden boat building in Arundel Maine. It was one of the first things I purusued that seemed like a dying art that I wanted to be a part of keeping alive. Also growing up on the water, wooden boats were a huge part of the culture and so it was engraned in my brain from a young age. I feel similarly to photography, My family grew up in a beautiful time, and my grandfather, who had a huge hand in raising me, had owned a camera shop in the 70s. There was always a camera around growing up, and when I got in my teens he gave me one of his old 35mm film cameras and I kept it on me for a few years, but never pursued anything more than shooting friends while we did whatever we were doing at the time. When I picked a camera back up a few years ago, it felt good, and as most climbers know, rocks and photography just go together. You are always in beautiful places, with beautiful people, doing amazing things. The lifestyle just begs to be captured, which is why so many do it. But given my health condition, I believe it put a huge emphasis on the people in my life. A reason that I am attracted to portraits. When I look back at my old photos from when I was younger, the ones that really stand out to me and mean a lot are the ones of my friends and family. Being able to step back in time and feel the moments we had together is something that I want for myself and others, especially after I’m gone.