Many people in the greater Hillsdale Michigan community know me primarily as a photographer.  I have been taking pictures seriously since the mid 1980’s.  I purchased my first SLR (no not DSLR) camera in high school with money from my Hillsdale Daily News paper route.  I studied photography while I was a student at Hillsdale College, and I took pictures for the public affairs department of the college as one of several work study jobs.  My senior year, I staged a senior exhibition of my photography through the Art Department.  

Having said all this many might be surprised to learn that I graduated from Hillsdale College with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Physics.  After Hillsale College, I moved to graduate school in Mathematics at University of Nebraska Lincoln.  Upon completing an MS in Applied Mathematics, I took a job at Hillsdale College as the staff photographer.  A year later I switched positions at the college.  The Math department had an unanticipated need for someone to teach for a year while the department looked for a perminant candidate.  My masters degree qualified me for the one year fill in position, even though my lack of a PhD precluded applying for the perminant position.
Following my year in the Math Department, I began studies at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in the Masters of Divinity program.  After two years, I took a leave of absence to get married.  Then life kind of intervened.  

Now I had a family to support, so I decided to use my Math background to build a career in the IT (Information Technology) field.  Since virtually all companies require some IT support, changes in industry are common.  I have worked in the book wholesale business, medical billing, military logistics, and now financial services.  At this point, I should probably add the standard disclaimer that I am not a spokesperson of the company for which I work.  All views expressed in this blog are mine alone.

I remain active photographically.  I take occasional side photo jobs, and I shoot numerous events in the Hillsdale Community.  I share these images with the community via my http://www.heckenlively-photo.com site.  My contact information is on my main website, for those who would like to hire me for a photo project.