Born to counter-cultural hippie parents, Ira was raised with his four younger siblings in a converted school bus in Colorado and Washington State. With forests, orchards and mountains serving as his schoolhouse, Ira developed an acute visual sensibility that found its perfect outlet in photography, which he discovered at age 14. Capturing nature’s own grid of tree and horizon, mountain and sky, he took to the seemingly alchemical process of photography and taught himself its complexities through borrowed books and the example of such masters as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau and Edward Weston.

Upon relocating to the Los Angeles area in 1993 to attend Biola University, he studied the humanities while opening up his own commercial studio in nearby Long Beach, where he began shooting the weddings of musicians, designers and artists who desired a fresh perspective to documenting their lives.

While continuing to evolve his own fine art and international documentary work, Ira has since become known for his ability to capture the distinct style and emotional ambience of every event with sophistication and professionalism. He is the recipient of the Photographer of the Year award from the Wedding Photojournalist Association and First Place in Brides magazine’s international photo competition, and is featured regularly in such venues as the New York Times, Town and Country, Martha Stewart Weddings, Inside Weddings and Wedding Style.

Ira lives and works out of his studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which he shares with his wife Andrea Codrington Lippke, a visual culture writer and editor with whom he often collaborates. He is an avid collector of contemporary fine-art photography and spends his free time surfing, riding his vintage Motoguzzi motorcycle, following independent film and music and traveling throughout the developing world.