1. Where’d it all start?

I’ve been into photography my whole life it seems – from family vacations as a kid with cheap digital cameras, to my friends and I filming each other riding BMX and motocross in high school, to my first trips abroad, I’ve always loved capturing memories with my camera and being able to share them with others.

2. Favorite photo you’ve taken and why?

I think this one’s a little tough to answer… I feel like I have a new favorite photo after every shoot. But, if I had to narrow it down, it’s probably something from Lake Como. There’s one in particular of a white sailboat framed perfectly between the mountains on either side of the lake that has been my screensaver ever since. It’s a very special place for me so my photos from there always bring back such great memories.

3. Where do you feel the most inspired?

Again, I’m going to have to go with Lake Como. It’s the first place I traveled internationally, and a place I’ve been lucky enough to visit every summer since college thanks to my relatives with a house there. It’s a picturesque lake tucked into the southern part of the Italian alps with breathtaking beauty. It’s the place I’m most relaxed and stress-free.

4. What advice do you wish you could give your younger self?

Don’t think that your future is already laid out for you, or that you have to follow the path that your friends/family/society expect. Careers are important but make sure you work to live, and not the other way around.

5. Favorite photographer or artistic inspiration?

I don’t know if I have a single favorite photographer, but there are several that I look up to and that inspire me, including Gray Malin, Natalie Obradovich, Kerry Wheeler and Carson Grzegorczyk. Gray Malin’s work is what inspired me to get into coastal photography, and Natalie, Kerry and Carson’s photos of Italy are some of my favorites. They really know how to capture the dolce far niente, or sweetness of doing nothing, that Italy is so famous for.

6. Favorite book, TV show, or movie from the past year?

Favorite show of the last year? If you count old shows that I watched in the last year, definitely The Office and F.R.I.E.N.D.S, which I feel like I’m perpetually re-watching. My favorite new show of the last year is probably either Emily in Paris (because it reminds me of my year working in London) or Searching for Italy with Stanley Tucci, because it combines travel with food. An instant win-win.

7. Last meal on earth? (food, setting, people, etc.)

One of the things that I think makes Lake Como so special is the dinners on my aunt and uncle’s terrace. They have a 500+ year old home in a tiny village above Menaggio that feels sort of tucked into the mountains. It’s such a unique setting, and special place to experience a meal with a dozen or so friends and family. Our favorite meal to cook is something we’ve nicknamed “pork on pork on pork”…porchetta with a “lardo” paste, wrapped in prosciutto and cooked on a rotisserie.

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