While in my learning phase of photography I have met some great people. Y’all know Kyle from the last post. Now I want to introduce you to my good friend Kirk. You see our friendship started with the love of shooting stars. He and I met through a Facebook group sharing the passion. He would message me from time to time about going out to shoot the stars. (in the middle of winter remind you). In my head I was like it’s too cold for that why would you want to shoot when it’s so cold. As the conversations went on we got to know each other pretty well. By the spring time I was ready to head out with Kirk for the first time.
That night was so much fun we laughed and shot the stars did some light painting. The best part of the night was hearing our good friend Alex yell at the top of his lungs, “Chris this is fucking cool come look”. Then it would be so quiet and you would hear Alex scream, “Holy shit I got the Milky Way you guys need to see this”. The moments like that is what made the whole night for me. I will never forget the feeling of joy coming from Alex while he was shooting the stars for the first time. Above is the image that I walked away with that night.
Going on the photographic Journey I was still trying to find out who I was as a photographer. This meant that I had to find the right gear that could shoot the stars and a good sunset or sunrise. What I found was you needed a good sensor with the right features that will help you learn. By this point I was really out growing my Rebel t6. I ended up buying a Canon 60D which was the next step up for learning how to shoot better shots. I was also working on better Compositions for my images. Using the new to me 60D I was really learning how to bracket my images to get the most out of the sensor.
Getting that camera body really helped me learn how to move to the next step of my photos improving. By bracketing (HDR) I was able to really get the most out of my camera. Above is a image of one of my first bracketed images. The level that is on that camera allowed me to get my compositions better looking. I soon out grew that camera and I needed to get a Full Frame camera (or so I thought). I ended up buying a Canon 5D Mark II and that opened the door for me shooting portraits. This adventure brought a whole new world for me photographically speaking. Now I was getting calls from former students that rode my bus when they were younger.
Seeing the kids again really made my heart sing with joy because I thought I would never see them again. (below is a image from my first photo shoot) Now I was capturing that last moment of the kids being in school again. The fear of messing up the shots really had me worried on if I was on the right path. Now I look forward to the call that an old student of mine wants me to take photos for their senior photos. My love for landscapes was still there and I was shooting everyday that I could. I soon realized that the Full Frame system is truly best for portraits in my eyes. SO I bought another 60d for myself.
I was happy with that choice and I was shooting away like no other. I was sitting at a show trying to sell some prints for Christmas gifts and my old monitor from bus 37 was at the show with her daughter. At this point in my photography career I was comfortable with trying to teach others what I could about photography. Chasity had the eye for photography but she never thought that she could do it.
Now this another friendship that was starting to happen. We spent many long hours talking about what to look for in a photo and how to take a photo. She only had a cellphone and a Sony camera. As time went on she ended up buying the 60D from me. Talks were happening more and more with her. Her photos were getting really good to the point that she was asked to shoot some portraits. Well that was it for me I seen her photos and knew right away that she needed the 5D Mark II.
I ended up giving her that camera and I took the 60D back. She is loving that camera and is still doing great with it. I was back to my favorite camera of all time which made me happier then no other. At this point I knew that I needed a better Camera and lenses that was going to get me the images that I was after. I was still shooting on the kit lens that came with the Rebel t6.
Yes, I bought that Canon 35-70mm lens thinking that it was going to help and the reason that it didn’t help was I had not learned how to use different focal lengths. I managed to save up enough money to buy a whole new system that was going to give me the lenses that I wanted and the Camera body that I wanted. I ended up buying a Canon 5D Mark III which was great and I used that to get some of my favorite images to this day. Below is one of my favorite images taken with the 5D3
To sum up this post I have been on an adventure of learning for the past four years and loved every experience that I have had with the people that I met along the way. If I could do it all over again I would not change a thing about it. The people in my life today enrich my soul and make me a happier person. Stay tuned for the next post I am going to start talking about the behind the scenes to some of my favorite images that I have taken over the years. Enjoy from Casper y’all
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