The Start of Something New
Starting something brand new is almost a daunting task. Will you keep it going or is it a phase where you love it for a few months and then you find something else? Are you afraid of failure or are you willing to take the failures as learning opportunities? For many people, photography is just like this.
Photography, for me, was a random find. Once I got back home from the Marine Corps, I was lost; and to a degree, I still am. I jumped jobs for around a year, doing security work and fueling planes at an airport in Denver. I met my wife, we moved in together, ended up in the job that I have now, and have pushed through it for over 4 years. once my wife and I moved in together, I found that she had an old Sony a300 with a single kit lens. I told her one day that I wanted to go out with the camera and just wander around Boulder, CO with this little 10.2 megapixel DSLR.
I am not afraid to admit, nor should anyone else, I had no clue what I was doing with it at the time. So, we walked around and I took photos. Once we got home, I realized something. I was the happiest I had been in a long time. Walking around, taking photos of anything I wanted and anything I could. I didn’t think of the camera, I didn’t think of the people around me. I was sucked into the world around me without a care in the world. I was paying attention to nature, little details that I otherwise would never have thought to notice. I did this a few times and then decided that I wanted my own camera.
So, we went out to Mikes Camera Store outside of Denver and I picked up an “old” Nikon D3100, a cheap kit lens, and a memory card and just started shooting. I took my camera everywhere with me. Went to the mall, had my camera. Went to work, had my camera. Anywhere I went, I had it with me. I just kept it with me. Of course, as time went on, and as a new photography enthusiast, I had the notion that gear is what made a photo good. For those that need to hear it, gear does not make a photograph good, the photographer makes the photograph good.
Anyways, I went on for about a year, upgrading my gear almost continuously, and trying different types of photography. At one point, I ended up with a Nikon D7100 and a Fujifilm X-T2. It was at this point that I started to move forward in my photography journey and got into shooting drag races at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, CO. This short lived experience is what really kick-started my love of photography. Getting photos of something that not many people are able to get, and being in an area that almost no one is able to be. There was no money involved for me (aside from the obvious expenses of paying for more and more new gear) because I had agreed to be unpaid by the contract photographer on the track. It was here that I realized that this experience for me was far more valuable, at least, for a while. The more I learned, the more I wanted to monetize the skills that I had been taught for high speed photography. Getting a usable photo of a car going 200 mph past you is not as easy as most people would think. Come the end of the race season, I left and went back to street and landscape photography with the occasional portrait session with a friend of mine at the time.
In the middle of this still fairly fresh pickup of a new hobby, I decided it was time I went back to school to get a degree. I decided that I wanted to get a degree in Political Science from Johnson and Wales in Denver as an online student while also working full time. I got started and very quickly realized that I didn’t want to do that. I finished my first semester of school and then withdrew. Then, I decided that I wanted to make photography my job. So, I enrolled at Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design to pursue a degree in Commercial Photography. This, of course, was a turning moment in my life and I caught a lot of flack from family. I decided that I don’t want my life to revolve around making as much money as I possibly can. I decided that I wanted to be happy and to do something that I genuinely love. So, here I am.
Through my school, I found the types of photography the I love. I will say though, It took a long time to figure it out. I’ve shot a ton of different types of photography and found my passion lies within landscapes and street. My own reason for this is that you get to shoot something that will never be exactly the same after that shot. It feels genuine, un-staged, and emotional. With all of this being said, learning new things is what makes you better. Although you may not think that high speed motor sports or portrait photography plays a part in landscapes or street photography, it does nonetheless. You understand framing, leading lines, foreground and background importance. You may not be having to pan-shoot a landscape but, you learn the movements for quick shots when that animal runs by that you’ve been trying to get a shot of for the last 3 days.
My goal with this blog is to not only help with understanding photography and toss out ideas but, its also to learn. I want to hear your stories about how you got into photography, why you chose it. I want to also learn from you and have a conversation about your photography. Let me know your stories and what you think about photography today.
With this blog, I want to introduce people to photography, no matter who you are. If you’re shooting on a phone, you just got your first camera and have no clue what to do, or if you’ve been in photography for years. If your a novice, hobbyist, or professional, I want this to be a place for anyone that has a love of photography and its inner workings.
I am excited to hear your stories and your insights and I cant wait to hear from you.