The gift of photography

In a recent blog post by Jay Goodrich he asked “why do you photograph”? (you can read his post here)  My answer to that was that I love being out in nature and photography has taught me to enjoy the natural beauty around me even more.  I also enjoy the fact that it brings together like-minded people. But the “why” goes back a lot further, to my 15th birthday to be exact, when my father decided to give me a Minolta SLR. I had not asked for it, it was his decision. My family liked traveling and hiking and my father always enjoyed photographing our outings. He probably thought I would like it also and he was right. The camera went everywhere we traveled.  I did not switch to digital until about 7 years ago, when some mishap during a return trip from Spain ruined most of my film. At that time DSLR’s were still way out of my price range and I decided to purchase a Panasonic Lumix with 5 mp, which at that time was great! But it was a point-and-shoot, and even so it was a pretty sophisticated point-and-shoot, it was not like working with a SLR camera. I became a bit frustrated.  A couple of years later I stumbled across Art Wolfe’s “Travels to the Edge”  and my passion for photography got a renewed boost. I remembered just how much I enjoyed being outside, photographing and traveling. DSLR’s finally were in an acceptable price range and I purchased my first one – a Canon Rebel. Finally a SLR again! Since then there has been no stopping me. Being fortunate enough to participate in two workshops with Art Wolfe has taught me to see the world around me with new eyes. I used to photograph because I liked to travel. Now I travel because I love to photograph. The image above was taken on Second Beach on the Olympic Peninsula. I was the only person on the beach at that time. It was an absolutely incredible experience to be on this beach by myself without any sign of civilization. Just stunning nature around me. I don’t think I would have been there had it not been for my love for photography. Yes, I might have visited this beach, but maybe not remained there to see the final glimpses of light. A camera is a great gift you can give someone, even if it is just a point-and-shoot. They will start to explore, examine and you never know what it might lead to.