My Journey Into Photography |

I like photography, no, I love photography! My father was… is… was a photographer. Is it possible to ever stop being a photographer? Who knows, I’m not a real photographer. I visited an Ansel Adams exhibit a couple years ago and was completely blown away. Perhaps this was the birth of my new found passion.

I have always loved photographs but never knew how to properly take one. It had always seemed like a simple concept to me. See something you like, aim your camera, take the picture… done! Not so. What about lighting? What about composition? How do you keep your kids from appearing as a blur in your photos? How do you take a picture in low light without having the harsh flash take over the scene? Well, I wasn’t able to answer any of these questions until I stumbled upon an amazing photography blog series called 31 Days to a Better Photo.

In this series, Darcy walks her readers through the basics of photography with the aim of having them feel comfortable shooting in manual mode at the end of the thirty one day tutorial. She begins by explaining the technical basics, understanding the relationships between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, and ends with discussions about post production (I think. I haven’t actually read the whole series yet).

Now, as a father of two young boys, 3 ½ and 1 ½, and a husband to a super amazing wife, I have some motivation for taking better pictures. Last summer I purchased my first real camera, a Sony NEX f3 with 18-55mm kit lens. It’s extremely compact, easy to use, and takes great pictures. I have everything I need – the subjects, the equipment, and the tal… um ya. This is where Darcy’s blog comes in.

I am going to follow her amazing wisdom and document my progress here. I’ll briefly discuss the various assignments Darcy gives us, share my successes and failures via photos, and give my thoughts on the process. I know it takes much longer than thirty one days to become a true photographer, but I think that this is a solid first step to truly enjoying photography, and hopefully taking better pictures along the way.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.