PHOTOS BY GARY ALLEN
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Left: A female damselfly lets her mate provide the support during their rendezvous at
the New Hanover County Arboretum. Their technique might seem a bit acrobatic, but
something must be working right. Fossil records tell us damselflies have been around
for over 250 million years. Top: A small moth seeks refuge in a Mexican bush sage after
sunset. Above: A colorful grasshopper, perched on a purple aster.
His transition from photojournalism to weddings led to a transition from Raleigh to
Wilmington. He was traveling throughout the Carolinas and as far as New York to do
weddings, along with freelance advertising and editorial work. It was work that could
be done from anywhere, so he headed to the coast.
“My wife and I realized we didn’t have to live in Raleigh anymore,” he says. “We
moved down here in 2003 when my daughter was starting high school and loved it.
It’s one of the best places in the world. I love the beach, I love nature, I love the small-town
atmosphere.”
He became manager of Southeastern Camera in 2012, a move that contributed
greatly to the evolution of his craft.
“Working at the store provided an opportunity to experiment with all kinds of dif-ferent
cameras,” he says. “I worked with cameras that were 150 years old. I took an
old Brownie to the State Fair and shot a roll of film.”
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