Derek grew up in Madison County, Indiana, just northeast of Indianapolis. His uncle was a professional photographer for a local paper, so his interest in photography developed early on by asking questions and admiring his uncle's work. Derek also learned to love the outdoors at an early age while camping with his dad. After Derek graduated high school he enlisted in the Air Force and learned his professional trade in electronics working on various military aircraft. This took Derek to many countries and he even lived in England for a year. Derek bought a nice film SLR film camera to snap some memories while getting deployed around the world in the 1990's. Derek bought several point and shoot cameras as life went on and continued enjoying preserving many memories with his enthusiast camera equipment.

In 2017 Derek bought a used interchangeable camera from a co-worker which peaked a more serious interest in photography. He had the chance to photograph the Great America Solar Eclipse of 2017 and he was hooked on the aspect of taking difficult and unique shots of the night sky and hasn't looked back!

Friends and family persuaded Derek to post more often, then strangers started asking for prints, and here we are today. Derek loves making people smile by brightening their day with a photo. Photography in nature and under the stars has been his therapy as well. Derek enjoys creating unique shots while being out in nature.

In 2019 Derek won a contest through a popular astronomy store shooting the lunar eclipse. Needless to say he was shocked that he won a contest with entries from all over the world! Derek keeps seeking to improve his skills and capturing those one of a kind images. Derek hopes his photos can make your day a little brighter as well!

You can find Derek's collections of images on various sites You can find them listed them in his linktr.ee page: https://links.capturedbyderek.com

Feel free to email Derek with any questions! He'll do his best to respond within 1 business day: derek@capturedbyderek.com