LocalNavy433 Photography

Hello and how the hell are you? If this is your first time here thanks for stopping by. In this weeks blog we are going to talk about something that is different for everyone. The reason for that is simple when you catch the bug for photography is going to hit you fast. The approach for starting is the same for everyone we all see a photo that blows our mind and we want to learn how to take a photo like that. Then there is another path that starts with taking a lot and I mean a lot of snap shots with your phone. The act of wanting to learn more is what drives us into the learning the craft.

We all have a creative side to use some more than others. The ones that are going to jump on the train of photography are the ones that have something to show and tell the world. I was one of those people when I was younger. It all started when I was around 10 and my mom and dad bought me a fuijifilm 110 disposable film camera. I loved the act of shooting everything and I mean everything that I could get in 35 shots. The world as they say was at my finger tips. We would get the photo processed and I would see what I captured and man it was not that good but who’s images are really good when they first start out lol.

Thinking about where I got the creative gene and I thought it was from my grandmother on my mom’s side and that is part of it. You see I got the creative gene from her and my dad. They were both creative people in there own right. My grandmother was traditional painter and her art was never the best but her passion for it was feed by my grand father and her studio was so much fun to see as a kid. Watching her paint was as a kid it was boring but the light in her eye when she was standing behind the easel was something to see. I wish that I would have taken a photo of that to look back at today.

My father was a welder and working with your hands was something that you did back in the 70’s when he started down that path. I remember standing in the training class when I was trying my hand at being a welder. He would have a metal plate writing out our last name in cursive with soap stone. He would then trace that out with a torch and it would be perfect his hand eye coordination was unmatched at the time. The metal plate was so clean that when he was finished cutting it out it would just fall to the floor. This stayed with me for years and it was the act of cutting the metal that impressed me. I tried my hand at this and I could never get it as good as he did.

To this day I have fond memories of watching him work with his hands creating art with a torch. The man was so good at cutting with a torch it was not funny. Then one day I walked out into the yard and there he was with a torch and brazing rod building a bonsai tree that hugged the shape of a rock. This blew my mind as I had never seen anything like that before. His ability to have such steady hands was amazing. All this is to show you that we all have our creative outlets. My grandfather on my mothers side was a geek to say the least. His passion was computers and ham radios and trying to talk to people from around the world. This was so cool to me back in the day when I was around 8 years old. I would sneak into his office and he would let us play hangman on his computer.

The act of using a computer was something that just fascinated me to the point that later in my life I would go to college and get two degrees in working on computers. All these experiences shaped me into the person that I am today. It all started sneaking in to play hangman and a few later a camera that I could capture the world with. Then a long time passed and I never really picked up a camera until I was much older and it was a Samsung Galaxy S2. That camera at the time was going to change my life but like most people I had a job and I had to make sure that the kids got the things that they needed. I was also not ready to start my journey of Photogrpahy.

The. Passion for me at the time was computers and trying to make the most of my computing with the least amount of money. I was not making that much money so tinkering with the cheap computers that I had was the thing to do. fast forward a few years and the act of using the cellphone for taking photos was more common place and people were able to share those images with the world because we all had the internet in the palm of our hands. This was a good time and I loved seeing all the works of art people were capturing with a cellphone. I was awe struck at the power of those devices.

Today’s smartphones have such good cameras that they took over the point and shoot camera segment to the point that if you find a point and shoot you will be paying as much for that as you are for a cellphone. Digital photography is the best of being able to take a photo and express myself through those images. The computer is a bonus because I get to work on them everyday to create my works of art. I love sitting down to post process an image that I took and shape it into the art that I love. I found a way to draw with a paint brush just like my grandmother. I found a way to create something that will last a lifetime like the metal trees that my father would make. All this and I get to geek out on the computer all the time like my grandfather.

The whole point of this blog is to show you that our experiences shape us into the person we were meant to be. The little things are what have the most impact throughout our lives and for me it was all the happiness I had from seeing the ones that I loved do what made their hearts fill with joy. Seeing my grandfather type away on the keyboard was so inspiring to me as a little guy that it stayed with me all these years later. Watching my grandmother create a work of art with a brush and her mind was awe inspiring for me to paint with a brush in photoshop. Being able to shape the light on MY canvas of choice is what it is all about. Seeing my dad work for hours throughout the week after his day job just to create a unique work of art is where I see myself right now with my camera. I am all these people with every image that you see coming from my camera. The photographic eye that I have is from all those people and you are seeing a part of them in. Every photo. Enjoy y’all.