My Journey
This website is dedicated to a collection of my best photos from over the years I want to first start by showing the journey from where I started and what it took to get here. Professional-grade photos don't happen overnight and the dedication required to advance in the field of photography. Nowadays you only see the photos after being cultivated from hundreds, if not thousands, of photos, never seeing what it took a photographer to sculpt their craft into what it is today.
After many years and over 200,000 photos, here's my story. I will give all of the details about the gear used, the stuff I learned, and the experiences I had along this journey. I have never taken a photography class and think anyone with access to the internet can learn how to be a great photographer. This is one of the few fields where you don't need a teacher to succeed. Trial by failure and repetition is the best way to learn as you begin your photography journey. Find a local photographer and see if you can shadow them for a day. YouTube is another fantastic free resource that I recommend to anyone. Find a YouTuber you like and copy their style to learn.
I have found that I love collecting and trying out both professional and wacky cameras and lenses meaning I switch up what im using somewhat frequently. I also have a fairly big collection of older cameras with cameras rotating in and out depending on what I want to use. It's a lofty goal of mine to one day have a fairly complete collection of all camera digital cameras from the 21st century. For most people I don't recommend this path, I think one camera and a few good lenses is all that's really needed.
Finally, the only money I would recommend spending when first starting out would be to get Lightroom or Lightroom Classic and a better lens. I have used all different types of cameras and learned that the camera isn't what makes a photo great. Invest in a slightly better-than-kit lens. My first "good" lens was maybe $200 and you can find it for cheaper used. Having the most expensive gear is not the be all end all. There will be a point in time when upgrading is the next step, but it is not the only way to take great photos. Most cameras I bought were last-gen used models. It wasn't until I started professional work that I upgraded to the best gear and finally bought new for the first time.
2019: The Start
Starting in July of 2019 I found one of my dad's old cameras (Canon EOS Rebel XS) and a couple of kit lenses. I had zero clue how to edit photos, much less use a camera. Rule of third? Never heard of it. But I took that camera everywhere with me. Looking back it did alright for a 10MP (Megapixel) camera. And for not knowing what I was doing it was the perfect start.
