Transitions
Someone said something to me yesterday that inspired this affirmation - that sunsets are a metaphor for transition, experimentation and growth. We were talking about my photography journey over the last year and her comment was in response to me saying that it all started with a sunset. For those of you that are newer to my page or don’t know me as well, I figured I’d share a little more of my story today.
I took a photography class in high school, one where we actually got to develop our photos in a dark room and I fell in love with the whole process. I had hoped to continue taking some classes in college, but as I was an accounting major, they said I would have to add a minor in art to enroll in photography classes, so that didn’t end up being possible at the time. My formal development of photography got put on the back burner for the next decade, although I continued to be the one always taking all the photos I could fit within the limitations of my phone storage capacities.
Two years ago I bought a townhouse in a neighborhood that has water access, not realizing at the time just how much I would come to enjoy kyaking, paddle boarding and going down to the dock to see the sunset. About a year ago, my sunset visits became pretty much a daily routine. Sunsets became something I looked forward to all day, a constant in a sometimes chaotic life, a means of clearing my head and a source of anticipation of exploring to find something interesting or beautiful. The kids or my mom would join me and we would enjoy exploring together.
In January I started focusing on improving my phone photography skills. I would take pictures every time I went out and then come home and figure out what made the pictures I liked work well. Then, the next time I went out, I looked for opportunities to integrate those concepts into that round of photos. Through that process I started having success with more photos in each nightly batch. I took an online iPhone photography class and learned how to use some basic phone editing apps to further enhance my photos and then I started sharing some on Facebook. I was surprised at how many people took the time to comment, providing affirmation and encouragement of what I was posting.
After the sunsets, I started finding I could capture some wildlife photos as well. At first it was squirrels and ducks for the most part.
The kids and I would go out and sometimes the ducks would be walking right down the trail ahead of us through the forest. We made some really fun memories searching for and then watching the ducks, 2 of which we named Gilbert and Helga lol. It has now become a fun tradition that many of the animals we find have silly names.
I think the moment everything changed from this just being a fun hobby to something I wanted to pursue more seriously was in the spring - the first time I found an osprey perched in a tree across the water from me. I sat and watched him for probably a half an hour, transfixed by wonder and filled with the gratitude I felt at being able to be part of that moment. I took some photos of him as he was perched and when he took off, but a cell phone just can’t do justice to a moment like that.
I started looking into buying a real camera and purchased a Nikon in May. At first, the transition from using a phone to a camera was pretty frustrating. I felt like I was missing more shots than I was getting (or not correctly selecting settings). I felt so much more confident in operating my phone than the camera. Half the time I ended up leaving the camera in the bag and using my phone instead.
However, I’ve always loved learning and I know that anything I’ve taken the time to really “focus” on, I have been able to be successful at. So, I broke it down into smaller pieces. I would pick a topic and spend a week or two learning that function of the camera and then I would practice it when I was out each day. It took a long time, but that methodology really helped me develop my confidence. I’m still learning, slowly evaluating what works and what doesn’t and adjusting my technique over time. But, at this point I would always choose my camera over my phone. That is, unless there is a potential of taking a photo of a bird and I don’t want to risk changing lenses to get a sunset picture. I have found my cell phone can still do a pretty good job with that when necessary. After I started feeling more confident in my camera, I put time into learning about more advanced editing programs and started using Adobe Lightroom to process all my favorites. I learned about animal behavior and took note of when/where I found my favorite wildlife and increased my success rate of finding those photo opportunities.
This is my favorite osprey picture taken a few months ago with my camera. It’s amazing what a difference a camera and some practice can result in.
My cousin Seth sent me a meme recently that said -
“As you age, it's ridiculous how fast bird-watching creeps up on you.
You spend your whole life being 100% indifferent to birds, and then one day you're like damn is that a yellow-rumped warbler.'”
This resonates so much with me. Honestly, for most of my life I didn’t even notice all the wildlife that I’m sure was there the whole time.
It’s interesting how when you start looking for something and learning about it then you start seeing it so much more.
I’ve really crossed the threshold because now I even have a bird ID app that I get excited to look up new birds I find in.
In March I started Facebook and Instagram photography pages, but it took me almost 2 months to actually post anything on it. Something about calling myself a “photographer” and sharing my work more publicly felt really intimidating. I felt like an imposter trying to call myself something I wasn’t really sure I was good enough to be called. I remember the anxiety I felt posting the first few photos. But, just like my personal page, the amount of encouragement and appreciation of my work helped instill more confidence to keep moving forward.
I started planning short trips to expand my horizons and provide opportunities to capture new things. I was able to visit Assateague Island and Ocean City, MD, Chincoteague, VA (for the pony swim), Hoopers Island, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Liberty Dam, Irvine Nature Center, Pickering Creek Audubon Center in Easton, Great Falls, MD, Shennandoah National Park, Weverton Cliffs, and Harpers Ferry, VA, Bald Eagle State Park, Gettysburg and Cherry Springs State Park in PA, (hoping to see dark skies for some Astrophotography but got rained out - shout out to my mom for making the drive down the pitch black mountain backroads in the rain), Cape Henlopen and Millsboro, DE and most recently Conwingo Dam in Darlington, MD.
I also found places to explore close to home including Masonville Cove, Cox Creek Dredged Containment Facility and Fort Smallwood Park (I probably visited Fort Smallwood 30 times over the summer).
My mom became my traveling partner for many of the trips and we made so many memories moon-chasing and getting excited together as we found beautiful scenery and wildlife.
I really enjoyed getting to explore all these new spots, but it’s funny how sometimes I still found my best shots right in my own neighborhood down at the dock. It just goes to show you, you don’t have to plan a big adventure to find beautiful things - it really can be as close as your own backyard.
When I first started, I wanted to photograph everything, but the last year has helped to narrow my focus (a bit) to be wildlife, landscapes and architecture and astrophotography. I have also found that I love taking candid photos of people with nature as the backdrop.
And that all leads me to where things are now. With similar uncertainty as starting this Facebook page, I started working on a website to list my photographs for sale. Because I have a real job as an Certified Public Accountant and two kids, the progress was slow. I stumbled my way through learning how to create a website. I used Squarespace which comes with templates, but there was a certain picture I had in my head of how I wanted it to be, so I had to learn how to do a lot of manual editing. After a lot of trial and error, I finally got it how I wanted and as I announced Friday, it will be live tomorrow.
It fills me with emotion just writing this all out. I think when you are the one in the middle of trying to reach a goal, you can get overwhelmed and frustrated by all the small stumbling blocks along the way.
You forget to take time to appreciate all the small wins. And each one of those small wins adds a piece to the overall pile you are creating. You can’t see just how high it has grown until you step back so you can really take it all in.
And just like a sunset, isn’t it interesting how endings are so often beginnings. You can’t start the next chapter until you close the one you are on. What a year 2023 has been, I can’t wait to see what 2024 holds!