Photography. Dictionary.com defines it as “the process or art of producing images of objects on sensitized surfaces by the chemical action of light…”
I would define it as “The art of capturing light”.
A photographer does not have to be a professional with thousands of dollars in equipment. When you capture a moment of time with any camera – be it a disposable camera from Wal-Mart or a $3,000 Professional DSLR, you have become a photographer. I’ve been around cameras for most of my life. I can remember the first camera I ever had as a child was a fisher-price toy with a rotating cube on top. I believe it was supposed to be emulating a 110 camera. Then I was given a nice collection of antique cameras, none of which worked to my knowledge, but I loved playing with them.
Years passed and around the age of 16, my parents bought me a Pentax 35mm SLR camera. It was the basic model but had all of the features I needed to start experimenting. But it wasn’t until about 6 years later when I got my first digital point-n-shoot camera that really started to fall in love with photography. For the first time it didn’t cost me $10 per 2 dozen images to see what I had taken. I could see the image at that moment and even delete it if I didn’t like it. Now I will never begrudge someone their film camera, but I will never go back.
About 4 years ago I purchased a Nikon D70s DSLR camera. For the first time I had a camera that was capable of tackling far more complex scenes. It came with 2 versatile lenses and I started playing and learning. I soon began taking lessons from the father of my brother-in-law’s wife. Does that make him my father-in-law-in-law-in-law? No, but he’s a brilliant professional photographer who has won international recognition for his work. I learned about what Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO meant and how they all interact and affect your image and your ability to capture an image effectively. I’m not what would be considered a professional photographer. I haven’t achieved perfection in all my shots. And I don’t take pictures for a living. But I am passionate about photography and every pro that I know says they are always learning, always growing, and always looking to improve.
Photography is a living breathing organism. It cannot be fully known to anyone because no one person could ever be at every event, every sunrise, every wedding, and every moment in human history. Thus, from someone learning more every day about the world of light and how to capture those moments of wonder and excitement, welcome, and enjoy!
About my equipment:
Camera: Nikon D90
Lenses: Nikkor 50mm AF-D 1.8, Nikkor 18-70mm AF 3.5
Filters: Tiffan Circular Polarizer
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4
The gallery below is my favorite pictures I’ve taken recently. The links below will take you to the other galleries.
Other Galleries:
