NICKNAMES? El Perro Sucio, Nate, Ginger Yeti, and Sasquatch

SIGN? Gemini

COLLEGE? University of Texas at Austin and University of Houston. I have a B.A. in literature.

WHAT ARE SOME FACTS THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU? I have mad beatboxing skills! I broke my neck when I was in high school. I was in a hip hop group when I was 12. I co-starred on a reality show on A&E in 2013. Seriously.

WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCES? Yousuf Karsh, Joel Sartore, Dan Winters, Edward Weston, Chris Buck, Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon, Michael Muller, Gregory Crewdson, Henry David Thoreau, Cormac McCarthy, John Muir, John Lee Hooker, Wes Anderson, and the Coen brothers

IF YOU WEREN'T A PHOTOGRAPHER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? I'd definitely be a veterinarian. I really love animals, and I've worked with them in some form or fashion most of my life.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR OTHER PASSIONS? Music is right up there with photography and animals. I'm so lucky to be in Austin, Texas. I get to see a lot of killer shows here. Music is such a huge part of my life, which is why I really love photographing bands and musicians.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT SHOOTING? I like to have a few pints with friends. Austin has a lot of cool little pubs that offer some great beers on tap. Haven't met many beers that I don't like, and I'm certainly an IPA lover. I also enjoy hiking the deserts of West Texas and the Southwest, mountain biking, cooking, working with reptiles and amphibians, and traveling the world with my wife.

MAC OR PC? I was a PC guy most of my life, but I'm now 100% Mac. Once you go Mac...

FIRST CAMERA? I had an Olympus OM-1n over 25 years ago. I loved that camera.

CANON OR NIKON? I have a Canon 5D Mark III and Canon EOS R, so I guess you could say I'm a Canon guy. I simply started my professional photography career with Canon bodies and lenses, so I'm most comfortable with Canon.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLE? My style is always evolving. When I started shooting, I really tried to emulate other photographers. It helped me hone my craft and recognize what I liked about particular styles. I tend to shoot hard light and high contrast. Shadows give dimension to images. My landscape and nature work is usually vibrant, but my portrait work is often desaturated. Honestly, I'm all over the place. I'll have to revisit this question. :)

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LENS? That's a difficult question to answer since different subjects require different lenses. Fundamentally, I tend to work with more prime lenses simply because the images produced are often cleaner. In addition, prime lenses make you move around more than zoom lenses to get the shot.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECTS TO PHOTOGRAPH? I really love to shoot bands and musicians. I also like shooting high-fashion and interesting looking people. When I'm shooting personal work, I tend to shoot landscapes, nature, street and automobiles.

WHAT'S IT LIKE WORKING ON A SHOOT WITH YOU? Entertaining as hell. I have fun when I shoot, and I make sure my clients have fun too. I give good direction, without coming across as aggressive. Music's always playing in the studio. Negativity really just stifles the creative process, so I take an extremely positive approach. It works!

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD? Photography is my passion. I adore what I do, and I'm excited to share my love for the art of photography with potential clients. I'm done.