"...photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place..."

Kelly is a Wyoming native living in Arlington, Virginia. He is an architect wannabe, photographic artist, Baileys coffee drinker, full-time govie, lover of animals, flowers, summer and more summer or he'll just take Maui. Kelly loves planning meaningful and personal photo shoots and is known for giving his amazing clients artistically unique photographs. Kelly has been practicing the art of photography for over four years. From learning the value of photography for architecture to emerging as a photographic explorer taking on macro, landscape, astro, portraiture, underwater, event, and storytelling photography. Kelly found his niche working with clients who deeply care about having unique and memorable photographs.

ENOUGH FORMALITY
I honestly never grew up wanting to be a photographer. For me it was never really a big deal; maybe because I always hated being in front of the camera (haha). I did enjoy being behind the camera capturing moments though, but it never really inspired me to deeply pursue it.

It wasn’t until my first summer studying architecture at GSAPP where we had to create a vegetable container (my container was for corn) and photograph it. Well the next day after I emailed my photos to my critic, she responded back with “phenomenal.” She was a very hard woman to impress, so hearing that just changed my world. At the end of the program she told me that if I decide not to go into architecture then I definitely have a career in photography.

The next summer, I took six weeks off to study architecture again, but this time at GSD. This was where photography got a huge boost of importance for me. It was here where I learned that as opposed to just capturing a moment, I now wanted to provide my viewers with an artistically unique photograph with a camera that was capable of showing the amount of high-quality work that goes into it.

These experiences led me down a path where I now believe that a photo shoot should yield a memorable experience with exceptional results. It is through a photograph where art meets reality and memories remain treasured. What I love about photography is that moment when your world becomes muted as you stare deeply and imagine being in the world that’s staring you back.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS
Photographing in Menorca, Spain, road trip through Colombia, herding cattle in Wyoming, hanging out with friends in Peru, being asked to photograph a finca in the coffee triangle of Colombia, working at Disneyland and in Las Vegas, living in Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq, holding my year-old niece as she lifts my hat to look at me, being asked to photograph a wedding for the first time, and knowing that more memorable moments are just around the corner…

FAVORITE QUOTE
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” –Elliott Erwitt