As a photographer with a deep interest in Civil War history and a love of the outdoors, there are few places I would rather live than the Antietam Valley. Home to Antietam National Battlefield and South Mountain Battlefield at the northeastern edge of the Blue Ridge, every trip outside is one into a natural and historical classroom.

Antietam Battlefield is a constant sources of inspiration and patriotic pride. Here, Americans took their place in line of battle against Americans. They marched, they fought, they prevailed and they died. Nearly a century and a half have passed since opposing armies of Americans lined the creeks, woods, sunken roads and stone walls of Western Maryland, but their pride and honor are still evident on the land.

My photographs are not meant to be straight, well-lit catalog snapshots of fields and monuments. Rather, I hope they are seen by the viewer as insightful compositions serving as a re-awakening of what the Civil War was, why it was fought by men on both sides. Mostly, I hope they remind us that the fields where these men were valiant still remain — they need our care and demand our respect.