Other Hobbies & Interests

Bird Watching and Nature Photography

During the first year of dating my now-wife, she introduced me to the joy of spotting, identifying, and watching birds. Eager to impress her, I picked a bird I often saw around my Madison apartment and one day confidently pointed it out to her. The bird was a Red Wing Blackbird (honestly not an impressive feat to identify, since its name is also a one-to-one description of its features). Little did I know that learning to recognize that simple Red-winged Blackbird would spark a shared passion and activity that we now enjoy and cherish together. 

Once we were engaged, we received a beautiful pair of binoculars as an anniversary present: an instant upgrade to our bird-watching adventures. We did a pretty good job sharing them for a while, but eventually, we decided to take things a step further and buy ourselves a camera (Nikon D7500 + Tamron 100-400mm lens) so that both of us could enhance our bird-spotting abilities. In the birding world,  folks enjoy keeping a record of every bird species they have seen. This is called a “Life List”. Because of the camera, we’ve added our own twist on this "Life List" goal by requiring photo proof for each species before it officially counts. I’ve included a few of our favorites here. 

We’re also working on a photo-blog where friends and family can follow our progress — stay tuned for the link! 

(Header photo on this page is a Eastern King Bird - spotted in Somerville, MA)

Astronomy

During my undergraduate years at Luther College, I spent my summers participating in a school-funded research program. I worked in an astronomy lab studying stars within a small open cluster called M23. Inspired by the stars and the vastness of our universe, I immersed myself in the writings of Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Through their perspectives on "the heavens," I became deeply captivated by our place in the cosmos and by the realization of how vulnerable and precious this "pale blue dot" is—the planet on which we live our lives and build our civilizations. I've since found this cosmic perspective to be the sustaining fuel in my passions and interests in working towards a world that works for everyone. Looking at photos of stars and galaxies will always inspire me and ground me in my place and role in this universe.

Here are two videos (based on audio from both deGrasse Tyson and Sagan) that have greatly inspired and shaped my life:

As I improve my ability as a photographer, I hope to explore astrophotography and see how much of our sky I can capture through amateur means. In the meanwhile, I've included two of my favorite photographs that have come out of NASA's efforts: