Carolina Beach Sunset Photography is more than just a hobby for me.  Photography got me out.  It got me out of the house.  It got me out of my shell and got me to be more creative.  Photography and I have been dancing partners for quite a while. When I was a teenager in the mid-70s, I got my first real camera, a Pentax K1000 35mm film camera.  I was self-taught, which means I made lots of mistakes and ruined lots of film.  We didn't have any YouTube then or videos to learn from, so I had to learn from books and magazines.  I mainly took photos of friends and family and some scenic stuff and would send the film out and wait a week to see what I got.   Dice When I joined the military, my camera came with me, but I didn't use it that much and actually sold it at one point and was without a camera for a time until I bought another Pentax that I still have to this day and use from time to time.  But again, it was family and friends, and holidays was the only time I used it.  I dabbled in black-and-white photography and even had a dark room rig that I set up in the bathroom.  Then something happened. Digital came out!  My first digital camera was a Kodak point and shoot, only a couple of megapixel, and I kept upgrading and experimenting with photography.  A lot of table top photography, lighting, and the occasional family portrait. When my daughter got pregnant, that was all the excuse I needed to get a DSLR, and then my photography world blossomed.  I started shooting all over the house doing macro work and then out to the local State Park.  Before I knew it, I had Ava gotten a map and started my journey to the outside, outside of my house and the comfortable environment that I was used to.  I started with festivals.  There are all kinds of festivals that you can visit, especially in the spring and fall, and they got me traveling every weekend going here and there.  This also got my wife going with me which was a plus.  Then I started a quest to visit every state park in NC.  I had a map and marked them off as I got to them.  My photography started to change then also.  I started doing more landscapes, more trails, and started hiking at age 50.  What a time to start.

My hiking started as a way to get there.  To get to the photographs that other photographers were not going the extra mile to get to.  But then I started to enjoy the hike almost as much as the photography, but not quite.  As the hikes got longer and more frequent, my son and I started thinking about hiking and staying overnight, and we started car camping (camping where you drive to the spot, pitch a tent, and camp) and then we could hike from there.   Goose Creek Grass That made the farther places easier to go to; because of the longer drive, spending the night just made sense. We would go to places like Pilot Mountain State Park that is about a four-hour drive from the house.  Then we got the idea, why don't we go somewhere and backpack in (all your food, tent, clothes in a backpack) and then backpack out?  So we started training.  It's much more difficult to hike with a heavy pack on your back.  Our goal was a 10-mile in and out loop at Doughton Park, a national park in the mountains.  So we started hiking and increasing our mileage and weight on our packs until we were ready.  And we did it!  We drove up on a cold night, slept in the parking lot, and hiked out at first light.  It was colder than expected (our water froze).  But we had a great time, and I got some photos that I wouldn't have gotten if I had just stopped by the road and took a shot.  That's how I got into backpacking; it was photography that got me out.

Wine glass Splash During all the hiking and photography from the start of digital I found the local photography club.  I had been living in this town for almost 15 years when, while I was on Facebook, I found a former troop of mine from when I was in the military.  I was looking at his Facebook page and noticed that he was one of the officers of the club.  I didn't even know a club existed.  So I got in touch with him and went to the next meeting.  And a new world opened up.  I could talk about photography and people's eyes wouldn't roll back in their heads.  We could talk about photography for an hour or so, and it was great!  I really got into the club, went on all the outings and workshops, and really enjoyed it.  The first Help Portrait I went to they had me take some of the portraits.  I had never used lights before, but they kinda set me up and then I was taking portraits.  Not very good ones, but I was doing it.  I was talking and taking photos of people I din't know.    The club got me out. Photography got me out of my shell.  It has gotten me to do this blog, this website, and post photos online.  Now, my gear has changed over the years and what I shoot has changed a little, but my love for photography has never changed, even when I let it go for a while.  Now I'm closer to 60 than I am 50, and I still get excited when going out on a photo shoot, whether it's to a festival or a waterfall, sunrise or sunset. Whether I'm in a big city or a secluded bay, I get excited and still feel creative.  Now, I don't really make any money.  Every now and then I sell something.  But photography has given me more than money; it has given me a way out!  So be like me and get out!  Keep shooting!