Carrying a camera has given me a great excuse to travel and see some of the most beautiful places on earth. Sometimes I even get paid to do it. I started shooting more than 20 years ago when I was growing up in Virginia, learning how to capture the magic of Shenandoah National Park trout streams with overpriced rolls of Fujichrome Velvia. And although I switched to digital in 2005, I still go for the film look today when editing my work.
An assignment to work on a marine biology project in the Philippines with the U.S. Peace Corps in 2004 brought me to Southeast Asia where I’ve been very lucky to meet so many amazingly friendly people and visit so many beautiful places. At the end of the assignment I used my photography portfolio to launch myself as a full-time photographer, and today I’m challenged to capture the magic of the ocean, the spirit of local cultures, and the fragility of threatened environments with my camera (especially in Indonesia or the Philippines).
Every day I work to get better at telling stories through my lens and sharing the experience with other travelers, surfers, and adventurers from all over the world. I also love to share what I’ve discovered along the way and help other photographers learn to bring back better photos from their next adventure.
My work has been published by National Geographic, Patagonia, Air Asia, The World Wildlife Fund, Garuda, Philippines Airlines, and many more. It hasn’t been easy, but creating my dream job has been a pretty amazing ride so far.
Grab Tommy’s free online photography course here, and check out more of his amazing surf photos here.
