First Encounters

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Thursday, September 9, 2010 | 4 photos

The apprehension, the fear, the excitement, the place in you go in your mind during your first encounter with wildlife. My wife and I have always enjoyed traveling. I have always loved photography. During my college days I served as an intern for a professional. My love for photography got pushed aside by marriage, kids and life. Twenty five years slipped by before my life was transformed the day my son died at the age of nineteen in a traffic accident. All of the sudden the monetary rewards in life were not so important. We started an organization where we expose under-recognized, underserved high school students to foreign places, doing community service and learning about exotic cultures. Similar to how a gardener nurtures flowers in a traditional greenhouse, Dustin's GreenHouse plants seeds of hope and opportunity in the lives of students.

Dustin’s GreenHouse was started in 2002, since then my wife and I have taken groups of kids scuba diving in the Galapagos Islands, hiking in the Peruvian Andes and shark cage diving in South Africa. It is so rewarding to observe a kid the first time they are exposed to the wonders of the world. These pictures capture the place in their minds during our globetrotting adventures and some of their “first encounters” with wildlife.

Why should you choose me? I am 53 years old, have been married for 30 years and raised three children. I have visited over thirty countries and have seen and shown hundreds of high school students God’s amazing work. It is time to go back to that college dream, being a professional photographer. What I learn will be incorporated into our organization and the students we work with. National Geographic is the gold standard, I hope you find my work worthy.