As a staff photographer for the Chicago Tribune, I photograph a wide range of situations. On any given day I might make a landscape photo of a sunrise over the city an environment portrait of a busy executive, or a spot news picture of a fugitive trying to escape from police. An awareness of natural light with a mastery of artificial light is crucial in this process. My philosophy is that I try to be respectful of all people I meet on assignment, especially since the kindness of strangers is often what makes the news-gathering process possible.

I'm a political science graduate of Northwestern University who became a photojournalist interloper. I've worked at papers across the country, including the Los Angeles Times, the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, CA, and the Palm Beach Post in Florida. I've won several awards, from a first place in World Press Photo to a shared group Pulitzer Prize. In between there have been several others, including the Photographer of the Year title from the Illinois Press Photographers Association.

Book projects I've shot for include "A Day in the Life of the U.S. Armed Forces", " America 24-7", "Illinois 24-7", and "America At Home". In the process, I have been called "One of the World's Best Photojournalists" by HarperCollins.

I've been a photographer at the Chicago Tribune since 1999. Currently, I run one of two individual photo blogs on the Tribune site. It can be found at the below. My Tuesday Tips feature on the photo blog is reprinted in the newspaper every week, becoming what I believe is the only example in the industry (at least in the largest newspapers) of a photojournalist's blog getting reverse-published. Please join me there or on its Facebook page!

Cuba, Faith, Comic Strips, Encouragement, Best Blog Practices,