For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by railroads and history. When I was a kid, my dad would bring me with him as he traveled to photograph and watch trains. My dad was a talented photographer and many of his images were published in railroad books and magazines. As I grew up, I dreamed of seeing my own name in print and I spent much of my free time trying to realize that.

I soon learned my photos would have a better chance of being published if there was a story with them. In high school, I started sending stories to rail-related magazines, and in 2004, I had my first article published in Trains Magazine. It was a dream come true.

In 2007, I moved to Missoula, Montana to attend the University of Montana’s School of Journalism. While there I got a job with the student newspaper. In 2011, I won a Hearst Journalism Award for a profile on a UM student dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder following a deployment to Iraq.

After graduating in 2011, I went to work for the Flathead Beacon in Kalispell, Montana, where I worked as both a writer and photographer (my editor called me the Swiss Army knife of the newsroom). While at the Beacon, I won a dozen first-place awards from the Montana Newspaper Association, including the Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award. I also wrote the newspaper’s infamous police blotter.

In 2020, I became the associate editor of Railfan & Railroad Magazine and a full-time freelance writer and editor. My words and photos have been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines (and even a few books), including the New York Times, Washington Post, Travel + Leisure, Atlas Obscura, Maine Magazine, Maine Home + Design, DailyDot.com, Mashable.com, Trains Magazine and Railroad Heritage.