Photographic Progress . . .
A quick story on my beginnings as a landscape photographer
“Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction. Every decision you make, from what you eat to what you do with your time tonight, turns you into who you are tomorrow, and the day after that. Look at who you want to be, and start sculpting yourself into that person. ”
So I was thinking about how I started with landscape photography and why I’m doing what I’m doing at this point.
It was about six years ago when I saw a picture of Torres Del Paine, by Daniel Kordan, which set off something within me. I remember I was in Barnes and Noble at the time, thinking about how I always liked photography, but never really studied it or tried it out as a hobby. This was also coming off of numerous injuries playing basketball and looking to do something else that wasn’t as “risky.”
Of course I ended up severely hurting myself a year later playing in a soccer game, of all things, but that’s a story for another time.
Anyway, since I was thinking of taking up photography, I picked up a few photography magazines just to thumb through them when I came across the Torres Del Paine picture of Daniel Kordan’s, a breathtaking picture that had energy and movement, but also a bit of serenity and tranquility to it as well. I’ll link to his gallery here and the picture I’m referring to is the first one in the gallery. And you might as well just check out the rest of the gallery as well!
Honestly, seeing that picture made me think “I want to get there,” not just physically, but also artistically.
This is where I’ll address the quote that started this entry.
Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut who was pretty famous for his mission on the ISS and posting a number of different videos about his time serving on that station. A famous video of his is this one:
Now, back onto the quote. I won’t repost the whole quote here, but I’ll just use this part:
“Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction.”
I haven’t read his book (yet!), but I knew of the quote above, which was a great quote to remember. It’s the choices we make, day in and day out, that help define what we could be. What we could become. Sometimes we aren’t as consistent as we’d like, but always taking up that mantle again, not giving up on what you’d like to become, we have to make those choices and sometimes ignoring the impulses within (like wanting to sleep!).
That’s what that quote means to me. And it definitely applies to more than just photography.
So it was a simple choice; I wanted to be a photographer, specifically of landscapes like the ones I saw in Kordan’s gallery. That meant moving my life in that direction.
One of my first attempts at Burney Falls. If I remember correctly, this was day 100 of the 365 Project. I think I actually hand-held this with an old Samsung Point and Shoot. I actually still have that camera. This was taken in May of 2014.
So in 2014, I decided to do a 365 project with photography and take a photo every single day for that year. The intention was to be intentional. I wanted to get better. So I went out, most of the time after work, to find a composition, sometimes pushing it to near midnight. Sometimes I stayed at home because I was incredibly tired from teaching that day, but still managed to get shots either outside in my neighborhood or around the house.
Throughout the first half of the year, I mainly stayed within the Reno/Sparks area, save for a few trips like Burney Falls (see photo to the right), but I eventually started driving up to Tahoe more and more as the year progressed. This was also when I bought my first DSLR, I think mid-way through the year.
And yes, the gear upgrade made a difference, but it still came down to what I was seeing and how to set-up a shot. That was still the most important factor (until it came to understanding how to edit - still learning that one!).
I definitely point to this project as the project that started me down this photography path. Every single day of that year, I choose to practice. I also started reading as much as I could, studying as much as I could, and watching as much as I could regarding photography and everything else associated with it. I could see tangible and incremental things I did to progress throughout the year and looking back at what I did then definitely gives me a sense of accomplishment.
But I’m definitely not where I want to be.
I think that will keep me going.
This was taken this year. At a very similar spot from six years ago. I think I chose this spot just so I could make the comparison. Plus, I didn’t have the proper gear to actually get in the water to get the composition I really wanted!