ABOUT ME:

My journey into photography began in high school, when I received my first SLR camera, a Canon Rebel X film camera with a kit lens, and I have considered myself a photographer ever since.

Upon relocation to San Francisco in 2004, I developed an interest in photographing abandoned buildings, a desire sparked by the discovery of a vacant Public Health Services Hospital in the Presidio. Although it took over a year to personally photograph the interior, delving into the building’s history ignited a passion for documenting decaying buildings. Over the past decade, I have extensively captured numerous locations across the East Coast and Southern regions of the US.

In the present, I find joy in the creative possibilities of using an iPhone to capture the world. Recent adventures have led me to explore the desolate wilderness in places like Colorado, Utah, Alaska, Baja and Kenya.

I still reside in the Bay Area and call a 52 foot motor yacht home. Most mornings, you can find me walking along the waterfront, bird watching or photographing the textures of water from my paddle board in the dawn light.

About
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MY WORK:

Within the crumbling walls of these decaying buildings lies a story wrapped beneath layers of dust. In a past life, these now empty asylums, factories, churches, resorts, ships and aircrafts were saturated with life. The people working, inhabiting and visiting these locations experienced a spectrum of emotions we feel today —hope, despair, love, sorrow, happiness and tragedy. Sadly, as these locations fade, so do these stories. 

The images featured on my site serve as documentation of these buildings and also act as a conduit for the hundreds of memories belonging to the people who once set foot within these walls.

 

PUBLICATIONS

  • Smartage.pl, 2016 - View
    Mothball Fleet Feature

  • Environment & Society Portal, 2015 - View
    Hartsville Nuclear Plant, featured images

  • BusinessInsider.com, 2014 - View
    Titan I ICBM Missile Site Feature

  • BusinessInsider.com, 2014 - View
    Mothball Fleet Feature

  • fstoppers.com, 2012 - View
    Abandoned Building Feature

  • Plus One Collection, 2012
    Featured Image

  • Urban Ghosts, December 2012 - View
    Images and Interview for article "Light and Life In Decay: The UrbEx Photos of Amy Heiden"

  • Palooka Literary Journal, Winter 2010/2011
    Cover Image

  • International Bowling Industry, April 2011
    Images and Interview for article "Do Bowling Centers Have Souls?"

 

EXHIBITIONS

  • Mare Island Nocturnes 20th Anniversary:
    Harvey Milk Photo Center, San Francisco - November 2011

  • Open Show Retrospective
    Rayko Photo, San Francisco - October 2011

  • Mare Island Nocturnes
    Mare Island Historic Park Foundation Museum, Vallejo - Aug / Sept 2011

  • RAW San Francisco
    111 Minna, San Francisco - October 21, 2010