My Billings Gazette

I was very excited to see a blog here for people who shared my love of photography. But I was a little disappointed intne number of members. Maybe with a little more participation I can help to bring more people in. As a start, I thought I'd share how i got into this racket.

Back in the day, highschool 1977, I took a photography class. We used black and white film, good old Kodak Tri X from a bulk loader and a Canon or Minolta SLR. We took pictures of everything trying to get that one great shot. Of course we had no idea if it was any good until we took it back to the lab and developed it . Often it was quite a surprise. After highschool I continued to play with my SLR for awhile. Film was expensive and developing was worse and you had to pay for all your mistakes, and quite frankly, girls and beer payed better enjoyment dividends to this young man at the time so slowly my interest in photography wained.

A while ago I started getting into salt water reef aquariums.  As it turns out, a large part of that hobby involves taking pictures of your various colorful additions and sharing them with the internet community. I started with a cheap digital camera and the harsh lighting conditions frustrated me until I finally decided to upgrade to the elite world of digital SLR's. It was at this time I had an epiphany. My first marriage was not successful and I was now sharing a relationship with a wonderful woman. I am told that shared interests are a good thing in a relationship.  If I was to buy two of everything and we were to start this hobby together we would have one of those shared thingies. That's basically how it started.

So what has the hobby brought me? Quality of life.  My girlfriend and I grab our cameras and go when ever we are bored. We've gone to every national park in a thousand miles. We've driven almost every highway and back road.  And the best part is this. I'm an old country boy. I am used to seeing a coyote and wishing I had a gun.   However now, well, it started with looking at everythng to imagine if it would make a good picture, but it has developed into seeing beauty everywhere, Every animal, field, pasture, sunset and even seemingly ordinary clouds. It has been and continues to be fun, beautiful, and my most successful relationship idea ever.

If you are just starting out or want to start being an actual photographer rather than someone who takes pictures, this is my first piece of advice.  Try to capture the feeling you felt when you saw what you photographed.  Someone looking at your picture of a fresh winter morning should expect to see their breath.  When you can do that, your picture went from snapshots to art. Good luck,