My Journey With Photography
My journey with photography began in high school. I was required to take an art elective in high school and photography seemed like a good option at the time. At first, I hated the class due to the complexity and my limited understanding of art. I had recently transferred, so I was a new kid in a big school. I had no idea how lucky I was at the time to be at this new school. The school focused on art and amazingly had a fully functional black and white dark lab. Even though I struggled in the beginning, it didn’t take long before I was fully invested and learning the basics of photography.
If anyone asked me today how to start with photography, I would recommend them to start shooting black and white film. I was fortunate to start learning with film, since it is more expensive than digital. It is simple to shoot digital photos, creating a film image takes skill- it is much more of an art form. One roll of 35mm roll of film only holds 36 frames and requires the photographer to slow down, and think about the process. Modern digital cameras allow a photographer to shoot thousands of frames and review the results instantly. With film you not only have to wait until you develop your roll, but then transfer the negative frame onto a print all before you get a final result. The settings require high levels of attention. In addition, the development process has to be done properly to ensure you get a usable roll. I have destroyed countless rolls learning to develop, but with each ruined roll and lost photoshoot I learned and grew as a photographer. The film process does an excellent job at teaching the fundamentals, you learn to use a camera, read an exposure, develop, frame and create a final image.
After completing my first class I continued to take photography all four years of high school, I finished AP art my senior year and was sent to take a flash photography class in Chicago the end of my senior year. After completing high school I wanted to attend college for photography in the city. I was accepted to the Art Institute but had no way to pay the bill for tuition. I took a break from school and joined the military with the intent to save for school. After completing a year of training in the military, I began attending college at Illinois State University. I decided to focus on an Information Technology major instead of photography but still picked up a job as a campus photographer while studying. I photographed events all over campus, and was able to get a number of my photos featured on the University website.
I took a break from photography after college as I turned my focus to starting my career. I took up other responsibilities and tried out a few other hobbies, but I always missed photography. I did my best to capture events at work, and capture moments through my daughters life but it wasn’t the same as shooting portrait photography. It was New Years of 2022 that I decided I was going to get back into photography and really go after it. This time around I would photograph what I wanted. I decided I would devote time and effort to learning what I had forgotten while also learning new techniques. I made it a goal of 2022 to set up photo shoots that would challenge me while networking and meeting amazing people along the way. This is my first blog post on this site. My idea with this blog is to share my passion for the art of photography while also detailing current and future projects that I am working on. Visit my portfolio for more of my recent work.
