Why did you get into photography?
Let me let you in on a little secret. I can’t draw to save my life. There, I said it. I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is. I’ve never been very good at drawing things. Don’t get me wrong, I tried my best, but no matter how much time I spent on something, no matter how much I practiced, I just couldn’t compare to my cousin, who could basically draw Disney characters from memory and they’d look like the real thing.
Maybe I was a little envious of him for being so good at it, but then I picked up my first camera, my dad’s Canon Rebel S 35mm film camera, and I started shooting anything and everything. I’d take roll upon roll of film, get them developed, and see the final products. Sometimes they were bad, but a lot of the time they were actually pretty good. With a little practice, and some direction from my high school photography teacher, I was taking great photos in no time. This had become my way of creating art.
When everyone started switching to digital, I bought my first DSLR, a Canon XT, and suddenly, the amount of photos I could take went from however many were on a roll of film to however many could fit on a small SD card, which was thousands. I spent months playing with camera settings all over again, with results coming in real time, expanding my knowledge and creating beautiful new imagery to share with the world.
Then I started working with Photoshop, learning how to edit and refine my photos, learning new skills on how to make a good shot even better. I began experimenting with colors I never even dreamed about. Soon I was introduced to Lightroom and ever since, I’ve been fine-tuning my craft, honing my skills, and rendering majestic photos ranging from landscapes to some of nature’s most powerful weather.
The photos you see in my galleries are just a taste of what I’ve done. The full scope is truly mind blowing: two 1tb hard drives and countless archival boxes hold my photography in print and digital.
It’s one of my great loves in life that I freely share with the world. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking and editing them for the best result.