The Artistic Passion of a Photographer

My journey through photography is nothing short of a story unto itself.  Like most things in my life, there is no simple explanation.  What makes the story interesting to me, is that I can remember every twist and turn there was in the adventure, where as most stories lose details to the sands of time.

It all started when my parents came into some family money, and they sent me about $8,000.00.  I knew that I had wanted to get into some form of photography, but I wasn’t sure how.  When that money hit, I started doing some serious research.




My first camera was the Nikon Coolpix 5700.  It was a (at the time) massive 5mp with an 8x Optical Zoom.  But the most interesting feature, was the viewfinder on the thing flipped out.  I had the free range of not having to hold it to my face to take pictures.  I could hold it way above my head, or shoot holding it against my chest.  Some shots were even taken with it laying on the ground.

Those first shots, as anyone can expect, were pretty bad.  But I improved very quickly.  The main thing I had was imagination.  I would take it to the pool hall and shoot pool balls at their level.  From there I knew I needed help to get better so I reached out for camera buddies.  Unfortunately I landed a horrendous relationship, but through that, I learned some amazing things.

She was really good at seeing angles and lines within the lens.  Also seeing natural formations to create natural framing effects.  But the most important thing I learned, was to put your subject off center, so that when someone looks at your photo, their eye starts at one location and is drawn to another.

With the end of that relationship, my photo skills have increased so dramatically that I could not believe it.  Soon after, I entered another relationship, and this woman enjoyed model photography and working heavily in Photoshop.  I found myself having to learn the highly advanced Photoshop techniques so I could teach her.  She pushed me to learn things I’d never have thought of doing.



Even though both relationships failed, the understanding of the camera, how to shoot, and how to edit and manipulate the photograph afterwards, has led me to have some truly amazing shots in my life.  After those relationships, I continued trying to grow and expand, no matter how hard it was for me.

For our wedding, Lisa ended up getting me my dream camera.  The Nikon D5200 is an amazing camera, and most important, it has that flip view finder.  Its my first SLR camera, which means having interchangeable lenses.  Already I’ve taken spectacular shots with it, just playing around.  And now that I’ve join the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, I’m learning all the little tricks to get the most out of editing different forms of photographs, and do my edits quicker to minimize cost to the customer.

All in all, I love taking photographs.  The majority of my work, thus far, has been taking sunset photos and nature shots.  Its not only given me an artistic outlet, but has allowed me to witness some of the most spectacular natural phenomena on this planet.  I’ve sat in awe of nature’s beauty, and I wouldn’t have thought to do so unless I would have had a camera with me.  I look forward to exploring the natural beauty of humanity in the coming years, and adding such subjects to natural places.  It is an exciting time in my life, as Lisa is pushing my creative soul to new places, and as of now, the sky is the limit.