Hello, I’m Max!

I have been photographing and learning about animals for as long as I can remember. Even though I love all the creatures I can witness, birds have always captivated me the most!

Watching them take flight, engage in courtship behaviors, and forage and hunt for food through my camera lens or just with the naked eye always gets me excited.

When I was very little, I was enchanted by the pictures in my animal books before I could read. I started on my path of wildlife photography when I was 8 years old, learning from my father, and I think that is what gave me my love of nature.

I graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in December 2019. In my last year of college, I took Ornithology, which opened my eyes to how amazing the class of birds is.

Learning about their evolution from dinosaurs, the current variance between all the different species around the globe, and how they have adapted to fit virtually any available niche just blew my mind, and it changed the way I thought of birds, and I can never look at them the same now!

I helped found Knighthawk Audubon Campus Chapter as the Photography Chairman during my last semester at UCF. I met many amazing birders through launching this club and learned about some amazing spots to find obscure birds. On a few occasions, I’ve returned to speak about wildlife photography and life after graduation, hopefully inspiring some members to pick up a camera and start making images!

Since then, I’ve led several photography and birding-centered walks throughout Central Florida, and I was honored to co-lead two trips during the 2022 North Shore Birding Festival at Sawgrass Island Preserve (Trip 16a) and Emeralda Marsh (Trip 55).

I have spent hundreds of hours in the field, honed my skills in identifying hard-to-locate species and photographing challenging subjects. However, the satisfaction I feel when someone earns a new life bird or a photo they are proud of is something I can’t quite put into words.

I want to share the love I have of birds with you and hopefully inspire some people to go out into nature and watch birds soaring overhead and think of them differently than just pretty birds!