Why Wonder?

For someone who typically claims that I'm not a "morning person," I sure do appreciate the sunrise. I always have a hard time getting out of bed and I'm always grumpy in the morning but I find that once I get started, I feel on top of the world. Now I normally only get up early if I'm planning on photographing the sunrise or if I have somewhere to be. But I never regret it, even if I'm lacking in sleep or just physically/mentally/emotionally exhausted from the day prior. It is always worth it. Always.

I seem to have this inner-monologue that starts out with "Who gets up this early? Why? What are you thinking? Go back to sleep, Matt." Which is typically followed by "No, you need to get out of bed, the World (whoever or whatever) is waiting for you." Often this ends with me setting a new alarm, rolling over in bed and then falling into a deep slumber only to wake up later saying to myself "Damn it!"

I always remember one specific morning where I DID NOT want to get out of bed. I had made plans to go shoot sunrise at one of my favorite spots at the time and the standard monologue ensued. This internal conversation lasted for at least 10 minutes. At which point, I was basically awake already so fortunately the motivated side of me won out. It was still dark out when I arrived at the beach and I haphazardly got my gear out of the car, proceeded towards the water and set up my tripod. When the sun came up, I was completely flabbergasted at how unbelievable nature can be. To this day, I don't believe I've seen a more beautiful sunrise, and I've seen dozens and dozens since. Standing there, just staring at the incredible wonder that Mother Earth has created, I thought to myself "Aren't you glad you didn't miss this?" Not that I would've known what I would've missed...

Now this photo is an HDR which stands for High Dynamic Range. In order to create this image, I took 5 photos with varied exposures and merged them into one final photo. Other than that, it is not edited at all, I did not enhance the colors, contrast, brightness, et cetera. I will admit that most of my photos get touched up in some form or fashion but why fix it if it isn't broken?

This was over four years ago now and it's still a reminder of what could be. It reminds me that if I don't show up, I might miss a moment of absolute magic. I still struggle some mornings, today included. Turns out I got to see a pretty phenomenal sunrise this morning too, so as usual, it was worth it. Who knows what you could be missing? I know I don't want to have to wonder.

How it All Started

Since the first time picking up a Kodak disposable camera as a kid probably no older than 10, it's always felt natural in my hands. Now I didn't realize at the time how much of an impact photography would really have in my life but did I ever love to waste film.

Fast forward to high school when my friends and I were all beginning to drive, this was the next chapter in my photographic journey. I was always passionate about cars as a kid and all I would read was automotive publications from Hot Rod to Lowrider to DuPont Registry. Cars symbolize so much: freedom, beauty, power and elegance just to name a few. I felt the urge to capture that essence of my Mustang and my other friends' cars. I was able to convince my dad to buy me a little 3 megapixel digital camera and proceeded to learn the craft of photography.

Somehow, only a couple years after this, I lost touch with the camera. It wasn't until many years later when I rediscovered my passion for photos. I believe it was 2010 and by this point, smart phones were coming a long way since their origins and the cameras in them were beginning to hold weight against other digitals. Similar to my passion for cars, I paired photography with another passion of mine: sneakers. I had been collecting sneakers (that's another story in itself) for roughly 3 years and had acquired many more pairs than any one person needs. Wanting to share my passion with the world, I decided that I would participate in what I liked to call Sneaktember. For the month of September, I would wear and different pair of shoes every day, photograph them and share them on Instagram and Twitter.

Now this is something I recommend to all budding photographers, pick a subject and take pictures of it every day for thirty days. This is going to teach you an unbelievable amount about lighting, composition, perspective, et cetera. You have to try a plethora of different things in order to keep your subject interesting, it will be frustrating but it will be worth it.

Now I got a lot of positive feedback, not only about my ridiculous sneaker collection, but also about the ways that I was capturing and sharing them. Now when October rolled around, I couldn't stop taking pictures. Doing this for 30 days formed a serious habit. Wanting to step outside of what I had been doing, I started focusing more on nature. I even found myself taking my phone to parks and preserves on my days off to take pictures. A couple of months of this and I decided that it was time to step my game up and I purchased a smart phone lens kit in order to try to get new perspectives. A couple months more of that and I realized that with the time I was investing, I should probably invest some money into another camera.

I ended up purchasing a second-hand Canon T1i from a friend in installments because $400 (I think) was a lot of money to spend on anything at that time. After getting that first camera, I started to take pictures of everything I could. If it challenged me, I wouldn't stop until I could capture it with ease and that's still my approach to photography. I want new subjects in new environments because the challenge of the unknown forces me into a creative mindset.

A few years, 4 cameras and hundreds of thousands of images later and I realized that I want photography to be a more integral part of my life. I believe the mastery of the craft is my true calling and I'm determined to create a sustainable lifestyle that allows me to photograph new places, people and things every day possible.

I appreciate the still image because I believe the simplicity makes it something that almost everyone can enjoy. You can take a few seconds to soak it in and see from someone else's perspective. I also believe that because nearly everyone has a camera in their pocket, a lot of us are beginning to take photography for granted. It's been an integral part of our society since it's origins in the 19th century and even as video becomes more and more accessible, I don't think still photography is going anywhere anytime soon. I love my craft and I am beyond honored that I'm able to share it with people all around the globe thanks to the internet and our advancement of technology. Who knows, maybe photography has saved my life. Happy shooting.

Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride

And so it begins..

When you initially strap into the seat of a rollercoaster, you may be excited or anxious. However, your heart rate doesn't begin to truly accelerate until you're climbing up to that initial drop. And by that point, it's too late. There's no stopping the ride now, you're in it to win it through all the twists, turns, loops, drops and climbs. And when will it end? Who knows? You can't see the end of the ride until you're pulling back into the station.

This analogy came to me last night after waking at 4am in a cold sweat. The reality of my decision is setting in, although a rollercoaster may make you excited, scared and shock your system with adrenaline, rarely do people die or even get injured.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, I've decided after 10 years of loyalty to an amazing company that I was going to leave the security of my day job to pursue my passion for photography. Truthfully I know my calling is to create. I've been creative from the jump but always had a hard time calling myself an artist. It's time to put up or shut up.

I will continue to share the process of my evolution into a full time creative professional here, and also in as many other social platforms as I can. I'd love to hear your feedback on anything that I can do to make this more entertaining or interesting. Stay tuned...