I spent my first years of life in my grandfather's photography studio in Indiana, although I was more concerned with the toys in his studio than photography. I studied literature at the University of Florida, and then moved to Japan. Along the way I rode with a middle-aged Harley gang on their weekly beer runs, spent some painful time in a Zen temple, went diving with sharks in Palau, and got married in a Japanese feudal lord's back yard. 

I realized that I didn't have photos of any of this, so I bought a camera. After a while I had a lot of bad pictures but I really loved taking them. My interest went from hobby to passion to obsession so We decided to do the sensible thing and move. My wife and I left everything behind and relocated to Boston, where we spent all of our money on gear and tuition at Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging arts. 

Photography is like writing in that both take a willingness to face your own bad skill in the mirror until you can call yourself decent, and it takes a lot more time, drive, and passion to  
call yourself a professional. I'm getting  there slowly, shot by shot.