Hi, my name is Pauly Kostora. I grew up in a small town just north of Seattle called Woodinville, Washington. As a kid, I spent much of my time in the woods near my home, and was always inspired by nature and the outdoors. I loved exploring the power line roads and green belts that were abundant throughout the area back then. And as I got older, my curiosity took hold and I began to travel. I drove, hitchhiked, bussed, and road the train from end to end of the United States multiple times. I wandered around Canada, and Mexico and I spent time in places like the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Southeast Asia. Eventually, I was more comfortable on the road than I ever was living in a house. In the early 2000s I took a break from traveling and attended photography school in California where I studied Visual Journalism in hopes of becoming a war photojournalist. During my studies, I published and freelanced for a few publications like the Ventura weekly and the Albuquerque Journal, but eventually found my true passion in outdoor and landscape astrophotography. I think it is important to mention that somewhere in all this, I also became a professional dog trainer, which has been a very handy background in my animal and pet photography ventures.