Well.
Here it is.
Yet another photography blog.
I love photography. I love creating something that people love.
I love composing a photo. I love working with the light mother nature has to offer. I love wracking my brain to try to figure out, "now, how can I make this shot work?" I'll try different angles and often the one I doubt is the one that nails it. I love that every time I load my files, I am excited and terrified. Elated and defeated. Photography is humbling. It is uplifting. Photography is part doing your homework and knowing your camera, and part having the stars align & the universe on your side. It is tumultuous. Turbulent. But mostly, it is exhilarating in all the best and most wonderful ways.
My photography journey started young, through my father. I tagged along with him on his drives. He had a film Pentax SLR and sometimes, if I was quiet and good, and if everything was going right, he would let me push the shutter button after he had everything set "just so". The whir and click of the slide-projector lulled and comforted me. And we always laughed and rolled our eyes, us kids, because our father was incapable of taking a "snapshot". Ask him to take a quick photo and you were immediately repositioned and more than likely facing the opposite way you had planned (by the way, Papa, I get it now ...) However, my siblings & I likely have the most well-documented childhood in history. Thanks to a passionate father, we have amazing (well-lit, well-composed!) photos for every step of our young lives.
As much as I love photography, I can't say as much for the photography world I found myself in when I decided to start a small (very small) business. In 2012, I decided I wanted to challenge myself and expand my horizons. I hummed and hawed. And finally, I jumped.
That's when I got my first taste of the "real world" of taking pictures for money. Competitors thought I wasn't charging enough. I wasn't serious enough. My network wasn't big enough. My gear wasn't expensive enough. Journey East Photography was and would be just another business in the horde of amateur photographers that picked up a camera and thought they could shoot for money. I found out that some of the "pros" quickly forgot where they came from, and I found out that being a fan was okay, but being the competition was not.
Know what else I found, though? I was a little naive, being raised up with photography all around me. Some of these people were fighting tooth & nail to make a living through their photography, and trampled right over us "little guys". Can't say I blame them.
Right now, I enjoy a lovely balance of photography, and of life. I continue to push myself, challenge myself and beat myself up when things don't work out the way I envisioned. I take a step back when I need to, and take a deep breath (more than one, let's be serious). But I always try to hold on tight to the love. The love of creation, of life, of nature & light and of emotion.
Because photography is so much more than taking pictues.