Where it all began…
Image downloaded from Pexels.
As I write this article and think back to where I got started in photography I’m reminded that about ten years ago my wife had an interest in photography. So, we got her a camera and signed her up for an Intro to Photography class at Burlington City Arts, in Burlington, Vermont. Her class met once a week and every night she came home from class I was on the edge of my seat waiting for her to share with me what she had learned about operating her camera in manual mode.
This was the result of a homework assignment where my wife had to take long-exposure shots. This was a 25 second exposure of my son and I playing with a cat toy that had a blinking red light.
Every week she was given homework assignments and I think I was way more into doing her homework than she was. I was very enthralled with the technical aspects of taking the shot. Once I learned about long-exposure photography it was all over, I was hooked! I remember setting up the camera on the tripod on our apartment stoop. Then I had her drive her car back and forth in front of our apartment complex while I took long exposure shots and got streaking taillights in the frame. Then, I pointed the camera towards the night sky and captured star trails, satellites, and even the International Space Station transiting the night sky with my Canon T3i and kit lens.
A long-exposure image I took with my Canon T3i from Airport Park in Colchester. The line across the upper port of the picture is the International space station.
After her class was over I basically took over the camera and she didn’t seem to mind too much. For a while, I brought it everywhere with me. I snapped some pretty amazing shots, a few wall hangers I’m very proud of, like my ‘First Drop’ shot.
First Drop taken in 2013 in Essex, VT.
As smartphone technology improved the camera in my pocket became way more sophisticated than the camera in my hand. I put down the DSLR for years and just relied on my cell phone to take shots. I work in IT and I got a lot of interesting shots I used on my tech-focused blog and Instagram page.
Fast forward to 2022 and I was gripped by the drone craze! I’ve always had a love of aviation since I can remember so seeing things from the air was extremely interesting to me. I invested in a drone, the DJI Mavic 3. Shortly after that, I completed my FAA Part 107 Commercial Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems license. I took my drone everywhere and got some really great shots, found through my page here.
Shortly thereafter, I decided to get back into photography and picked up a Canon EOS RP. The RP is Canon’s entry-level full-frame, mirrorless camera. This was my first full-size sensor and mirrorless camera.
Since getting the drone and now the new camera my love of capturing the moment has been re-kindled. I look forward to sharing my work with you. Thank you so much for giving me your time.
