Monday, December 18, 2017

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.

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