This is a portfolio of 20 photographic images taken between 2008 and 2010. For many, I used a waterproof Olympus Stylus. I have two young children and take copious pictures in a wide variety of climates and conditions. I have honed my picture making practice for over 20 years, having taken up my dad’s 35mm SLR when I was 10. My BFA experience was full of both Chemical Photography and Traditional Printmaking. Since 2001 I have focused more on the printerly arts, but I have continued to take pictures (either 35mm negatives or digital snapshots) every day and use photographic elements in many of my works. The 35mm prints I so love have morphed into these digital 1200 px wide snapshots- each one a good example of the kind of things I shoot for. I have lived in several distinct regions of this country and feel I have imagined America as a realist would: by incorporating elements from my lived experience into my compositions. It will only suffice to say that I employ my own rhetoric of beauty and make it my categorical imperative with each image.