What is photography to me?

Photography to me has evolved over time and become clearer over the years. I sold my first picture back in 1995 and had been clicking away for a few years before that. The camera has been a part of my life for a very long time but at some points more involved in my life than others.

In the early years I took photographs just to remember certain things that caught my eye or maybe pictures of friends. There was no real reason and I can't say I brought the camera with me everywhere. As the years went on that certainly changed and the camera now is part of my everyday life and part of me. There are very few times when the camera and I are far apart now. It isn't a hindrance to me and doesn't feel like I am always working. I just love taking photographs and if I do not have the camera then I can't take the image and undoubtedly there will be something I will have wished I had it with me for. I guess this way I just feel ready to capture whatever it is that strikes me.

Over the years what I capture and how has certainly changed as well. I was never taught how to take or create beautiful images. I have learned by doing and trying. I now can easily change between one image to the next to accomplish different things with the camera. The camera is my tool and to me is similar to a paint brush of an artist. In fact, I do think photographers can be artists. The image is something that is created by using the light, colors, angle, subject placement, and settings of the camera. There is so much you can do right there on the spot with your camera to create or capture the beauty that is before. Over time I have learned to see things so differently that I really do not know how to look at things without seeing the beauty or seeing it in different ways.

Many things have changed in the World of photography with the major one being a switch from film to digital. I think the switch has many advantages but there are some draw backs as well that have truly changed and hurt the industry. It is much harder now to try and make a living as everyone can take a decent image with today's cameras. They are smart and fast which enables many to see something and just fire away at it. It is hard not to get something decent. There are some things that still play into being a good photographer versus someone just out there taking pictures. I think having and eye to see things differently is still extremely important. During the film days photography could get costly if you did not know what you were doing. You would not go out and just keep shooting. Things were planned as film was expensive and then you had to either develop it yourself or get it developed. If you were getting birds flying or things moving you had to know how to do it rather then just clicking away as you would be out of film and have nothing to show for it.

So what does photography mean to me? It is something that I feel has evolved into a gift that allows me to share a World I see and experience with others who do not see it the same way or do not get out enough to enjoy it. Photography is something that frees me and allows me to just be myself without the worries of the World on my shoulders. I look through the lens and it is almost utopian for me each time. In the wild it is something that feels awesome to be with Nature and I truly feel the gift I am given is to see things and interact with nature in ways many others can't. Nature allows me to capture it and share it with all of you. It is such a good feeling to capture an animal and feel connected with it and have that show up in the image. Photography allows me to fill my soul and replenish my spirit. I get true joy in sharing this and when one of these images makes someone smile it truly warms my soul. Photography has allowed me too share a my true self and my pure joy with others in a way I have never been able to do before in my life. The camera is truly apart of me. Photography and my interaction with nature is a gift that I can share with others. I truly feel blessed. Photography and I have become much of the same thing in that it is me and I am it. I hope to continue bring the joy to all of you.