It’s been a year since I started this website! Woo hoo!

Here are some of the ways that photography has changed me over the last year:

• Seeing light and shadows – I now can appreciate how magical the light is in the first few hours and last few hours of the day.  I was always drawn to magical light, like sunsets and rainbows, but wasn’t quite sure why. It is because the quality of the light is so soft and giving off colors you don’t normally see during the the day! It’s not important to only see the light, but see how the shadows contribute or distract from the photo.
  • In the picture above, you can see that the light is coming from the top left of the photo creating shadows that move down and to the right.

• Changing your vantage points – One pose or shot can be seen through a variety of angles. The bird’s eye view can look dramatically different from the worm’s eye view. ( I quickly googled if worms have eyes after typing this and the answer is no. They don’t have eyes, but light and touch sensitive organs. I thought that sounded wrong.)
  • The pictures below show the same tree. The first picture was taken with me crouching on the ground shooting up; worm view. The second picture is at my eye level.
• Changing the lens in which you see through – You can pick how you look at your subject through a wide angle lens or a telephoto (zoom) lens. This will also give the same pose or shot a different feel!

• Appreciating what you have – The allure of new gear and things in general is sexy because markers are so effective, but do you really need it? A lot if the time, the answer is no, and you can get by with hacks or less expensive alternatives instead of shelling out for another piece of must have or game changing equipment the internet buzzes about.
  • Case in point: I wanted to rent a 24mm prime lens. The widest lens in a prime I have is 35mm, and I wanted to go wider. I eventually talked myself out of it because I wanted to see how far the 35mm would get me before I fall in love with another quality lens that is going to cost $700+!

I hope these were interesting insights into how this year has changed me as a photographer!