The Story of Dubbs

I've always been said to be a planner and a dreamer, and when I was younger this was always frustrating. I never had a problem coming up with plans and ideas, but at the time I was never allowed to do these outlandish activities for whatever reason. Once I had eighteen years under my belt my parents started letting my spread my wings a bit and I have not slowed down since.

My first excursion was to the west, when a good friend and I drove out to California. It allowed me to step back from the world I had been living in an analyze my life from a outside prospective. Over those months, something changed in me and my creative side was awoken. When I came back to Wake Forest, for the fall of my Sophomore year, I had a new zest for learning, and also a new path veering away from years of expectation from my younger self.

I had dabbled in poetry a bit in high school at Woodberry Forest School, and knew there was a passion lurking there. I then started taking art classes as well as English classes, and soon changed my major from English to studio art, with a new found interest. People asked me, "What are you going to do with an art degree?" It was a good question, and I didn't have an answer, which I loved at the time. For the first time in my life there was uncertainty and freedom from planning a future. I also knew nothing of the arts, and soon discovered it was a way of learning about my self and exploring the subject I knew least of. I received a well rounded education in high school and college, though could have easily skipped right over, what has now become, the most important thing in my life.

After graduation, I knew I was not ready to settle into a serious, long term commitment. I worked for three months, mapping the Upper Riparian Corridor for the Headwaters of the Tar River. I did this with the nonprofit land trust, the Tar River Land Conservancy. I cherished those times while I was alone on the river. The poem Tar River, sums it up well.

Different events led me to take an around the world trip, where I worked mostly in New Zealand and plans to continue on through Asia and finally Europe. When I got to Thailand, something clicked and my mind started working differently. Suddenly I had found the place I was looking for and I was in a position to spend more time there. I quickly canceled the trip and began my divemaster training with Taa Toh Lagoon dive resort in Koh Tao Thailand. I knew that two months would not be enough, so I made plans to return in 2005. I saved up money to buy underwater camera equipment while working at home after returning from the trip.

My mission for this time in Thailand was to develop skills as an underwater photographer, absorb some of Asian culture and leave myself open to any opportunities that may arise. Because of that, I have now become a technical, deep diving photographer. I recently went on a trip with the MV Trident to the USS Lagarto, to identify this submarine that has been missing since the end of WWII. There were a few videographers, and I was the still photographer. I've had the chance to dive virgin wrecks and bring back the first and only photographs from these sunken links to the past.

Next year, 2007, I plan to dive the Similan Islands on the West Coast of Thailand. It will be my first chance to dive premier class reef with my camera. I am now on the path of exploration as well as inspiration, fueling my creative energy through experience.

This October, I had my first photo show in Raleigh. The title was Wanderlust... not all those who wander are lost. It consisted of photographs taken in America and Asia. It showcased black and white and color imagery, as weill as underwater photography. It was a visual expression of global pattern and diversion, focusing on texture and repeating forms found around the world.

I consider myself to be very fortunate on many levels. I have had wonderful support from my family, who gave me the chance to find this freedom that lies buried too often, also my friends who have encouraged me to go for it, and not look back. Both Woodberry and Wake Forest, gave me bonds with great teachers who served as mentors both during my time there and continue to do so well after graduation.

I hope to bring both the far reaches of the planet and the depths of the underwater world to light for anyone who crosses my path in life.